The New Light Bulbs

The light bulb above my desk fizzled out yesterday.  Actually it didn't fizzle, it popped.  As I flipped on the light, the bulb made a loud popping sound, as light bulbs have been know to do when they die.
 

I wept, openly over the death of my little light bulb.  (okay, not really, but I wanted to.  What I actually did was mumble something under my breath about the day going straight to hell in a hand basket).  I felt like weeping because I knew there were no longer any unused, incandescent light bulbs in the house, and going to Walmart or Target to buy more is no longer an option.  Sad isn't it?  Instead there are these white, curly-cue, blue-light emitting, fluorescent little monsters that mess with my senses and make me want to go back to kerosene lamps.  

I liked my incandescent bulbs!!  First of all, can we just stop to appreciate the beauty of the word "incandescent" in itself.  The word is an adjective and it means--"emitting light as a result of being heated".  I think it would be a great word to use at a baptism.  Incandescent also means "passionate or brilliant".  I'll never forget watching the end of Pride and Prejudice (2005) when Elizabeth says to her new husband, Mr. Darcy,  “You may only call me "Mrs. Darcy"... when you are completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy.” 

Incandescently happy...what a beautiful state of mind.

Fluorescent, on the other hand, is not a pretty word.  It reminds me of the words "floor" and "scent".  I don't know about any of you my floor doesn't have a nice scent, not that I've checked, but germs live there, and feet walk there, so let's just assume. 

 

But back to the bulbs.....I liked my incandescent bulbs!!  They had kind of a golden light to them that made everything warm and "homey", like seeing warm lamp light through a curtained window on a very cold night, as you are walking back through the snow from the barn, with a sloshing pail of milk hanging from your gloved hand. 

 

The little house window in "Norway" at the end of the "Norway ride" at Epcot in Florida.

Incandescent light is that warm, welcoming light that says, "Come on into the kitchen, and have a seat there by the stove and warm yourself.  The biscuits are nearly on the table, and after dinner you can join us as we sit down on the davenport to catch the new episode of Bonanza on the Television."

The new bulbs, however, make me feel like I'm sitting in some 1960's government facility, full of teletype machines and balding men in horned rim glasses, smoking cigarettes and cursing, over numbers being totaled on an adding machines.  The only things missing are the mint green walls and the big old Western Union clock on the wall.  The lighting sucks and gives a person a headache.

I'll take the warmly lit home, thank you very much.

They say these new bulbs are more energy efficient, and that's great.  I'll be honest, I don't know much about them other than the fact that people aren't suppose to throw them in the garbage, or they could be deadly if accidentally broken.  Let's face it, we know some of these toxic bulbs are going to end up in the landfills.  More than some.  What then?  Is it worth the energy saved to have these nasty little mercury packages fouling up our landfills?  We already have too many people flushing prescription drugs down the toilet, and other toxins being washed down drains.  Not only that, humans are clumsy, a few are going to be broken and we'll have to call guys in white suits to come and clean them up. I'm not going to go into a full political or social rant about the darn things, I'm just here to say I don't like the light they produce. 
Maybe I just need to find another brand, I don't know.
Maybe I just need to open the drapes more often.
Maybe I just need to go take a nap.

Until another day, don't forget to shut off the light.