My mom knew exactly what to buy my friends when I was invited to their birthday party: a flashlight. Boys are attracted to them like other incessant creatures are to lights, including moths, mosquitoes and June bugs. When my friend who was celebrating a birthday opened his package, and pulled out the flashlight with the red bezel, the gift became the instant favorite among the offerings of his friends. Boys just seem to like flashlights. I still do.

I have a bunch of them, in different sizes, powers and purposes. Some are small enough to fit on a holder on my belt, some are magnetized to stick to metal surfaces while I’m working, some could substitute for a short baseball bat (almost). I miss the old light pattern from the filament bulbs, with its unique shape and light/shadow patterns, and yellow-ish tint, especially when the batteries were running low. I like the new flashlights for their power and how far they’ll go with a charge or a battery (or two), thanks to the LED light sources. Oh, and I can’t forget the headlamps that are very handy when needing light and the use of both hands, like when tying on a lure while night fishing. And who can forget the old lantern flashlights with the six-volt batteries?

I remember playing with my flashlights, including the weak little blue-and-yellow Scout flashlight that opened like a Tic-Tac breath mint package, under the covers of my bed, in makeshift tents made in the backyard with blankets and rope and the clothesline. They were used during night sessions of hide-and-go-seek games on the street, or to cast scary shadows on the wall. In the teen years, they were used to see into the nooks and crannies of car engines when working on them or, again, when fishing. The list of uses goes on to this day.

I love flashlights, for their functionality and for the memories they re-kindle. I think it is good to remember to love the simple things in life, and flashlights are among the most simple and least appreciated.

This blog section is titled Philo, which is Greek for loving, as in love of: for example, philanthropy: love of people/humanity; philosophy: love of knowledge or wisdom. My writings for Philo examine “love of” many things — both subtle and sublime — that comprise life and living.

Check out my photographic project for the year, The Year of 70: Decades of Joy and Thanks.