TheBanyanTree: Story Time

[Kitty Park]

I live in a condominium, one part of the greater 50-unit Association.  I own all that's behind the doors.  The ground outside and the exterior walls to the drywall, I do not.  My porch falls in middle ground:  it's limited common area, meaning the Association is responsible for clearing a path to my front door in the event we have two inches (or more) of snow.  But I may plant flowers or otherwise decorate that 9x9 area to my liking -- with certain restrictions (because it is *still* common ground).

In front of each unit in the common area is a yard light, the purpose of which is not only decorative but functional in that it lights the path from the driveway to the front door.  A sensor turns it on and off.  Visitors who arrive after dark should find the way lighted for their safety.  Because of insurance liability concerns, it is mandatory that those lights work.   

It is the unit owner's responsibility to replace the bulbs when they burn out.  It seems that residents living here have had to replace those bulbs on the average of every six months.  I am an exception.  I have been here for nearly two years and that little bulb burned faithfully from that point and before.  I was thinking about naming that bulb.  Sparky perhaps.

When I went to bed Tuesday night, it burned brightly -- I could see its reflection on the bedroom ceiling.  But Wednesday night, oh, no, *no* reflection!  In the morning, with temperatures in the teens, I wasn't about to shovel a bare spot in the snow in which to place the ladder or take off my gloves to remove the screws anchoring the cap so I could replace the bulb.  Yesterday I decided to tackle the task:  today would be colder and next week a combination of rain and snow is expected.     

One of my neighbors who has replaced her bulb four times had told me, "The screws that are the obvious ones to gaining access to the bulb aren't the ones you use."  I *remember* her saying that; I don't remember what followed.  When looking at the lamp, I recognized the screws that obviously held the top on.  When I removed them, the top should lift off and I could change the bulb.  

So I unscrewed all three, in the process dropping two in the foot of snow beneath the lamp post.  Then I discovered that *these* were the screws I wasn't supposed to remove.  So I replaced them (after using the snow shovel to dig for the two I'd dropped).  I cleared a place in the snow for the ladder and after climbing it, I found two fasteners on the top of the light.  After unscrewing them and lifting the top, I was able to remove Sparky who was very dirty and sitting in the middle of a dried mass of dead bugs.  Damn!  Sparky is a *100* watt bulb!!!  It's replacement is 40 watts.  I put the screws back in the top, climbed down the ladder, gathered the tools and put them away.  

Dusk came.  The light that should have come on failed to do so.  Crap.  I *knew* I should have checked the bulb before putting it in the lamp.  Come morning, I'd have to go through the process again.  

While lying in bed this morning, knowing that it's cold and probably snowing again, I remembered that some people had turned off their yard lights, challenging the must-be-on rule.  There is a switch somewhere in the garage.  With fingers crossed, I went out and found it, one with a "reset" button!  The display of the clock radio that is plugged into that outlet was dark.  So I pushed the reset button and the clock's green display began blinking 12:00 at me.  Aha!!  Somehow the night of the big snow the circuit breaker must have kicked off!  Tonight I should have light at the lamp post.

Poor Sparky wasn't dead, isn't dead.  Now I'm pondering going to the trash can and pulling Sparky out, dusting it off, and perhaps displaying it in the china cabinet in honor of its long service.  I am confident that if I return it to the lamp post, it will burn out in a matter of days if not hours, and I'll have to climb that ladder again and too soon.    


Kitty
kpark at sssnet.com
www.parkplaceohio.com