Firelight in the Dark

Big dark is the time in the northern part of the USA between now, at the onset of Standard Time, and about April when mornings seem to get earlier. That is this writer's opinion, and an antidote to the cold and dark is a candle. The candle looks warm and captivates me, rooting me to my place while typing in the dark. The accessory of the candle, the white gas lighter, also gives amusement. The favored type of candle is the beeswax candle. These come from our local, hippy grocery store and are poured locally before being presented for sale. The advantage of a beeswax candle is that it lasts, and the honey odor smells calming. In contrast, sometimes this writer will get the closeout soy blend candle from the deep discount store, and those burn less attractively than the beeswax ones. The hippy store runs sales on the beeswax candles sometimes, and this writer waits until they go on sale to buy them. A year ago, the writer had a sleeping disorder that turned, for him, day into night over several years. The candle and the worship radio were the main friends of the night for this writer. The gas lighter is a recent addition to the ritual of burning the candle, and it came from the best incense purveyor and online store. The lighter is a Japanese-made, simple machine that one supplies with white gas, a wick, and flints for the purpose of lighting the candle, and sometimes incense. This tool and getting candles at a good price are the factors that help this writer during the dark.