Is It Just Me?
— Susan Rigby, Guest Columnist
Join Wimberley humorist Susan Rigby as she attempts to navigate “the small stuff.”
As I explained last week, I’m intrigued by new inventions and gadgets. I am the owner of some of the most unique items out there. Here are two more.
A solar-powered mosquito repeller.
This is something I needed due to all of the insects trying to snatch a bit of my sugar- filled blood when I go outside. It is a 2 inch square box with a tiny solar panel on one side. The directions say to put it in direct sunlight for 8 hours, then turn it on and like magic, the mosquitoes avoid you like you were a big fly swatter. No longer would I have itchy bumps all over my body.
I sat in my lawn chair as I turned on my solar device, but before long, I felt my first bite. To be fair, the bite was on my foot and the solar box was in my hand. I then lowered the repellent to my legs and felt a bite on my neck. I finally waved the box around but the mosquitoes were too fast. I need to learn some yoga to get into a squished down bottom touching ankles position for this device to work.
A non-battery powered, crank-handled flashlight.
Being into solar and energy conservation, this was just what I needed. The flashlight is ready at all times. No worries if the battery is still good. Just crank it.
It wasn’t long before I needed it to get something out of my dark shed. I felt confident as I headed to my shed, cranking the flashlight. The light lasted only a few seconds, once I stopped cranking. I found it difficult to do anything like open the shed door since I needed two hands to hold and crank the flashlight. I found that I was obviously out of shape and cranking made it worse. Realizing that I could not find anything in the shed while I was sweating and cranking, I decided that my crank-light could live with my unused exercise equipment. I would have to replace it with another non-electric light source — a candle. I am not giving up on it because someday it will come in handy, after I get my strength back.
