Skip to main content

Six Sentence Story: Flash

Photo: A little boy stands outside of a blue split-level house
Linking up again with the Six Sentence Story blog hop. Go check out the other stories! This week's prompt: flash.

 *********************************************
Upon entering the split-level house for the first time, she thought it very odd that the stairs led up to the bedroom hallway, instead of the light-filled living room, but even the strange floor plan could not deter her and her husband from purchasing the otherwise-perfect-for-their-family home. 

 They did want to do something to brighten the dim entryway, though, so she purchased 100-watt bulbs to replace the two 40-watt spot lights that hung on the track on the vaulted ceiling. He got out the tallest ladder he owned, she steadied it while nervously hoping he didn't fall, and he managed to replace the bulbs without incident. When he flipped the switch back on, they were rewarded with a bright, cheery light--that is, until the humming sound, flash, and explosion of glass. 

 They escaped injury, but learned the valuable lesson of paying attention to the labels on light fixtures which indicate maximum recommended wattage. As for the entryway, they decided that bright and cheery was overrated, and dim mood lighting was a much better, or at least safer, choice. 

Comments

  1. messymimiMarch 14, 2019 at 4:59 PM

    Oof. Yes, i learned that the hard way as a child. Luckily, the bulb just burned out immediately and did not explode. Well told!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:11 AM

      Oh, I'm glad you were OK and didn't have an explosion!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 14, 2019 at 5:10 PM

    ayyiee (the imagery of light bulbs, with their thinnest of all glass, showering down on up-turned faces)
    good Six

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:12 AM

      Fortunately, we weren't directly underneath at the time the glass shattered.

      Delete
  3. westcoastwomanMarch 14, 2019 at 5:28 PM

    - that moment before it all goes horribly wrong.....great story

    ReplyDelete
  4. GirlieOnTheEdgeMarch 14, 2019 at 5:49 PM

    Excellent Six! That would be me...hey, why so dark, let's get some light in here!!! Difficult way to learn that lesson :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:13 AM

      At least the dimmer light made the floor-to-ceiling, there-is-no-way-we're-taking-all-that-down, wallpaper less noticeable! :-)

      Delete
  5. Pat BMarch 14, 2019 at 6:57 PM

    This story may not have been shared with some of your family back then.

    We recently replaced the internal workings of a lamp (the second one within a couple of months) and when we put in a new three way bulb it exploded within a couple of days when I turned on the lamp. Thanks for the shade and the fact I wasn't standing above it, I wasn't hurt.)

    When I clicked to read this SSS, I wasn't paying attention to the blog page, and thought, 'Wow, the house in that picture looks like the one where you used to live." I had a good laugh at myself once I realized I was reading your post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:14 AM

      Maybe not. ;-)
      I don't remember hearing your exploding lamp story until now, either. :-) Glad you were OK!

      Delete
  6. UPMarch 14, 2019 at 7:07 PM

    Good six. I'm one for mood lighting these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:15 AM

      Given the choice between dim or exploding, I'll take dim any time!

      Delete
  7. Violet LentzMarch 15, 2019 at 12:32 AM

    Nice take! Very original! Excellent six!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 15, 2019 at 9:15 AM

      Thanks! "Original" comes from real life--I don't think I could have thought that one up myself!

      Delete
  8. D. AveryMarch 16, 2019 at 7:26 PM

    A cautionary tale!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 16, 2019 at 8:09 PM

      Yes, the moral of the story is: read the label! :-)

      Delete
  9. Lisa TomeyMarch 17, 2019 at 4:54 AM

    Oh wow! This story is a true warning! Thank You!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiMarch 18, 2019 at 1:44 PM

      You're welcome. We certainly learned our lesson!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

  A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others.  Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...
3 comments
Read more