Looking for that lightbulb moment
“IF we knew where all the brilliant ideas came from, we wouldn’t waste time thinking up bad ones!” *
*The inventor of the ‘Man Bun’.
WHEN Thomas Edison suddenly realised that humanity needed better, brighter illumination than candles and oil lamps provided and decided he must invent something that would do the job safely and conveniently, was that the first ever lightbulb moment?
Like asking how much a ride on the dodgems at Barry Island costs – it’s a fair question.
Loyal readers know I occasionally get ideas for articles through overhearing conversations in coffee shops. That still happens, because socially distanced customers two tables away sometimes talk so loudly over their flat whites and cappuccinos, ignoring them is an impossibility.
Like the couple overheard discussing a TV comedy show they had watched.
The lady declared it hilarious, while the man shrugged and said begrudgingly, “I suppose it was all right… if you like laughing”.
All comedians, humorists and writers need to be highly observant as they walk around.
They may see something outwardly inconsequential that they recall hours, days or weeks later and find a use for.
Often, when ideas pop into my head, unless I scribble them down immediately, day or (especially) at night, they evaporate into thin air and try as I might, I rarely get them back.
Which is why I keep a pen and small notebook handy.
I recently had a business appointment in a town I’d never visited before and, after I’d parked my car, I made my way through unfamiliar streets, looking for the building where my meeting was due to be held.
As I turned a corner, I noticed that across the road a launderette was situated immediately adjacent to a church.
This, as the Americans say, “got my wheels turning”. Why they can’t just say “I’ve had an idea!” I’ve no idea.
Anyway, I reached into my jacket pocket for my pen and notebook, stood on the pavement, looking across at the launderette by the church and this is what I wrote down…
“I have just seen absolute proof that cleanliness really is next to Godliness”. @philevanswales or visit www.philevans.co.uk