A Flashlight Kind of Father – by John Trainer

I remember we moved into a really cool house in the woods. Near the river in Jacksonville, Florida, which is the only hometown I’ve ever known. My folks borrowed everything they could to get into this house and it was brand new. So when hurricane David brewed up in Summer of ’79, they had no money for plywood or anything like hurricane supplies. I later learned that my dad had visions of staying up all night with a football helmet to protect his noggin as he listened for some sign of danger to his young family and brand new house. If he could have protected the home with his will, we would’ve been well covered.

Well, being ten years old, and very much feeling like the little man of the house, I wanted to be part of the “hurricane readiness” that I was hearing about on the news. (Non-stop coverage on all 3 networks, back when there were only three networks.) So I thought I needed a flashlight. When the lights go out, I’ll be ready. So I commandeered one of those old EveryReady brand flashlights. I’m sure you recall: $2.99. 2 D-cells. First generation bulb. Works 80% of the time. You get 90% reliability if you can whack it just right. I made it my own, which is to say, I carried it everywhere for two or three days, and no-one objected, ’cause it was a piece of junk.

David came and went. My parents actually got to enjoy their little house in the woods. The builder was a nature lover and so the house was perfectly situated between lovely old-growth trees. We didn’t lose a single one. Nary a scratch.

Fast forward to my own young adulthood. I coveted a reliable flashlight. Which at the time was a mag-lite. Standard police issue. Guaranteed to be a good backup if an officer dropped his nightstick. I knew I had arrived when I got one for my first car in college. It was around twenty bucks then. (It doesn’t cost much more now, but $20 took longer to save up back then.) I was so proud to have screwed the clamps into the floorboard, and it was “mounted” just like in a patrol car. It was a delight to me for many years.

So 15 years later, I come across a company called “SureFire,” who makes lights for the US military. Waterproof, shock resistant, able to ride safely under a 12 gauge shotgun and suffer no harm from recoil, etc. And (again this was a reach for me financially) I got one. They say it is so bright that you can temporarily blind an attacker. I am grateful that I have never had to test that feature. But it uses expensive lithium batteries that cost (minimum) $1.50 a pop. And it is a hungry beast. If I had to bet my life on a flashlight working, I would pick that one. Now I mostly buy those for “special occasions” like a good buddy’s 40th birthday. You know, something cool that he wouldn’t buy for himself.

Then I had the Summer of 2004. A total of four tropical storms that didn’t touch the house but caused a total number of days without power up over a week. (Not all at once, thankfully…) And I became acutely aware of how much these lights were costing me. And my three year old son wanted to use it all the time…

Since then, the LED technology has improved in power and in price. Now, even the mighty SureFire can be had in LED flavors. Still, over 100 bucks a pop, though. For the average guy, there is a great light at Target. One AA battery, LED light output rivals the 2-3 D cell Mag Lite, just under $20. I want to say the brand is Inova, or Innova, I’m not clear. It is a great light and I covet flashlights. I imagine it will be long-lived and it is very durable. The switch operation is smooth and just like the SureFire in principle. I will probably by more of those and donate the big Mag lites. They just don’t thrill me anymore.

As for Ben (my one and only son,) he was probably about six when a storm popped up on the radar. I dutifully drove out to Home Depot for “hurricane supplies” and Ben wanted to come. He is always welcome, but this time he was really anxious to come along. He had been reading the “emergency preparedness” guide that all the local businesses put out at that time of year (thinly disguised ad, you know) and he was studied up.

As we strolled the aisles, he asked me about this and that. How would we respond to this crisis or that, and I realized that he was doing what I did at 10. You see there’s a scene in the very first Star Wars movie, when Han and Chewie are escaping form Mos Eisley. They are getting shot at, and their escape will be close. Han barks orders at Chewie, and he starts pushing buttons. Thirty-three years later, I realize that this is all stage craft. It is easier to make things look serious by doing a bunch of stuff than the director telling Harrison Ford, “I don’t know, fly more seriously…”.

It is polar opposites to “be still and know that I am God,” but that’s a different essay. When it rains, I flip on the wipers. For fog, I switch on the fog lights. For snow, switch on the 4WD. You get the picture. Very early on, I learned that when bad stuff happens, the good guy pushes a button. Things improve. Escapes are made, and the story moves on.

With a storm off the coast, Ben can sense that Mom and Dad are nervous. Dad handles that stuff by “staying busy.” And now Ben wants to “stay busy” with me. I sensed this. And so, on the spur of the moment, Ben got his flashlight.

Some people talk about “knighting” ceremonies for sons. There is ritual and expectation. Preparation and anticipation. Yeah. No, this wasn’t like that. For better or worse, this went down like making deputies. The sheriff knows sumpin’ bad’s about to happen. “Not sure I kin’ handle this on muh own. It could be dangerous. But I’m gonna need… a deputy.” The badge gets handed over, now the two good guys triumph where one would be overwhelmed. You’ve seen the movie, I’m sure.

Ben?
Yeah dad?
There’s a hurricane a comin’
I know.
We might lose power.
*scoffs* We’ve done that before.
Your sisters might get skeered.
I won’t be scared, Dad.
It’s OK to be scared, son.
I might be little scared, after dark.
I could use your help.
Yeah, Dad?
You’ll need… a flashlight.
YEAH, DAD? *jumping up and down, now*
Yeah, let’s go pick one out.
YEAAAAAHHHHH!

I got him one with an LED and an internal generator. In a hurricane, there’s a lot of hurry up and wait moments. I wanted to have something for him to do. Additionally, I wanted never to have to say: “turn that light off. Save the battery.” So now it’s up to him. He slept with that light in arm’s reach for the whole hurricane season.

Like so many things, the more prepared I am, the less likely they are to happen. I bought a generator after 2004. We didn’t have another significant blackout for three or four more seasons. *sigh* I don’t know if Ben can find his flashlight anymore, but as Father/son moments go, it was priceless.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.