• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • The Complete Nevadan

    In-Depth Coverage of the Silver State

    The Complete Nevadan
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • About
    • Writers Wanted
  • You are here: Home / Featured / News /  Is This You? Nocturnal Walkabout

     Is This You? Nocturnal Walkabout

    January 21, 2019 By The Complete Nevadan Leave a Comment

    by The Complete Nevadan
    January 21, 2019January 20, 2019Filed under:
    • News
    • Opinion

    By Trina Machacek

    f you were to tell me that you never get up during the night to answer natures knock at the bathroom door—I would look at you sideways and giggle. That being said, a few nights ago when I was up answering that 2:47 a m knock I had a “well dang me” moment. But—yes I am flushing in an early, “but.” But I am getting ahead of myself.

    Trina Machacek

    Here’s the whole story.

    I monitor my power bill. I don’t want to say I am on a budget or that I am tight fisted with a buck. Let’s just say I try to plan my money in verses money out and where there is a dollar concerned I hold on with the grip of an eight armed octopus! Okay so I budget a little and am a tiny bit tight fisted. So when I was up roaming the nooks and crannies of my home that fateful night I was quite surprised at the sights I saw.

    When you go to bed you turn out the lights, I assume. Unless you have that one monster living in the closet or under the bed. The light always keeps them at bay you know. But suppose you have along your life path, banished the monsters and you do turn off the lights. (Hurray for you, let the rest of us know how you did it.)  Again, when you go to bed you turn out the lights. With the lights out I figure my power consumption is less than during the day so I must be spending zero as I snooze. Right? That’s very fiscally sound.  Sound good to you? Sounds good to me.

    This one night was not my first middle of the night rodeo. I usually don’t turn on the light as I don’t want to wake up all my senses. It’s easier to get back to sleep if my eyes have not been blinded by the light! However I have one little night light to light the way as to not let my toes try to move the corner of the bed all by themselves. Ouch!

    Then, task at hand accomplished, for some unknown reason I took a jaunt down the hall. I wasn’t thirsty. I had already gotten a drink of bathroom water. Yes, yes I think bathroom water is the best. It’s the coldest. I know that because it always takes the longest to warm up when I want to wash my hands—after—well you know.

     So it wasn’t a drink of water that sent me down the hall in the middle of the night. I was just roaming, doing a nocturnal walkabout. Then I noticed it. A light. A little light over by the television. No wait there were two. Now three. Another one was coming from another room and there were some in the kitchen. Crumb there were little lights glowing seemingly everywhere I looked. It was truly a light bulb moment! Albeit tiny light bulbs.

    Okay so my mind didn’t go directly to the cost of these little lights. I was a little comforted by the lights. Like little sentinels keeping watch over me. There were three at the TV.  DISH box, the disc player—at least it wasn’t flashing 12:00-12:00-12:00 at me. Remember those?  I have a notepad thingy setting by the stationary bike I ride while watching TV during the winter because it’s too cold for me to go out when it’s minus eight okay! Anyway the notebook had an “I’m ready when you are” light glowing. My laptop on the dining room table has bubbles as a screen saver and the bubbles were bubbling and glowing next to the printer and my Kindle. Microwave and kitchen stove had glowing clocks. Oh the list of lighting sightings is long. Red, green, blue and some just a little glowing yellowish white. Kind of like walking inside a Christmas tree. UUGGHH. Don’t say Christmas in January! The bills are about to arrive… Oh bills. Yes, yes the power bill.

    I did not count lights I just went back to bed. Trying to get back to dreamland this came to mind, “I wonder just how many pennies those dang lights have cost me over the years.” Then as night surrounded me I began counting pennies. Then the old puzzle came to mind. Remember this one? If you have a penny and double it every day, one cent, two cents, four cents, eight cents… Apparently by the end of just one month you will have more money than you will know what to do with. So I kept going. Sixteen cents, thirty two cents, sixty four—as I got to 64 it triggered a memory of a friend who just turned 65 and that turned to the matter of Social Security. I never did get back to sleep.I’ll always keep a light burning-apparently.

    Trina lives in Eureka. Share with her at itybytrina@yahoo.com

    Tagged:
    • Trina Machacek

    Post navigation

    Previous Post The burning of Lovelock Cave
    Next Post The Sparks Tribune: Mayor ready to lead city into the future despite cancer diagnosis

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Recent Posts

    • IsThis You? Wall to Wall
    • Opinion: Judge blocks state grouse protection plans
    • Mitchell: Asylum seekers should prove their claims
    • Mineral County Independent-News: First African American Adjutant general in NV National Guard
    • The Ely Times: Traveling war memorial coming to White Pine County
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Copyright © 2021 · Milan Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in