Night Light

Most people don't notice the little lights we live with constantly. I do. They are the ones that appear when every other self-respecting light is off for the night. These little lights are handy during the day but at night they keep me awake. They seem to be little eyes, peering at me. Their tiny eyeballs glow a niggling red or blue or green. In a dark room, they light up just to keep me from sleeping. Night lights are supposed not to do this. I have known a six footer who attempted to eliminate a tiny ceiling light that was beaming from a safety fire alarm device while wobbling on a hotel chair and applying tape despite the danger and possible 911 call. While most of you who stay in hotels or live in homes or drive vehicles pay no heed to the little lights, I do. I hate them. I see no reason for them to exist. Who needs to know all night long that there is a hard-wired fire warning directy above the bed? Do other people wake up, see that fierce little red light and say to themselves, "Oh now I'm safe. I'll just nod off again."  I see that little light as it drills into my dreams and I simply cannot sleep. I toss and turn and whoops, there it is, the little light peering. And not only one little light, as I look around the room, there is one on the television, one on the DVD player, one on the laptop - in fact four on that thing and others. My companion is shaken awake and begged to apply electrician's tape to each of the offending beacons so that I can sleep - and he, too. This is usually attended to after my series of deep, audible sighs , moans and tossings about. The worst of it is, that when the tape is in place, the little red light may still put out a visible  rosy glow from somewhere in the devices damnable depths. The rosy glow  effect doesn't appear until the room lights are once again out and the taping man is once again settling into his repose. "Honey, I can still see the little red light." This demands the now furious king of tapes to duct up the whole fixture until the offending rosy glow has been quelled, our suitcases being generously endowed with lights-out aids. From Rome to Lima to London and Cairo our festoonery has embellished many a hotel room likely causing consternation amongst the maids on our departure if we have forgotten to remove the tapings. I digress.You would think that once the ceiling little red light has mercifully disappeared, the job would be done. But no. The other lights must be outed as well. And the tale rolls on. I contend, however, that little red lights or blue ones or green ones for that matter, need not be visible day and night. They are there to tell us what is on and what is off  but is it  important to know that fact twenty-four hours a day? What is wrong with the old method of finding out that  if something is off, it doesn't work?  Most of us can sleep through anything so I'll just turn over and ... what's that over there? Yes, another little red light. "Honey."