Innovation to Spare

The little bulb on my mini Maglite finally burnt out. I couldn’t find any shopkeepers in the neighbourhood who knew how to change the bulb, let alone sell me a replacement. So back I went to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) where I bought the flashlight probably ten years ago. The experienced staff person not only knew how to change the bulb, he showed me the secret compartment with the spare bulb in waiting! You should have heard the two of us geeking out over that innovation. He popped it in and presto, light! I bought a pair of bulbs at MEC too (2 cell AA, about $3) and he also replaced the spare in the secret compartment. By the look on his face, this little bulb episode was going to be a highlight of his day. He told me there had been very few problems with this mighty Maglite, although now people were turning to flashlights with LEDs because they last longer. I’m pretty happy with the ten years I got out of one bulb though. By the time I need to replace this bulb, I will probably have forgotten there is a secret spare.