An SOS for Household Light Bulbs

Osmel Almaguer

HAVANA TIMES — Little by little, the fluorescent tubes that used to light my house and my father’s house have proceeded to burn out. He has, in turn, replaced them with energy efficient ones. Now his evenings watching TV are colored by a bothersome light he put in the dining room.

The energy efficient bulbs give off very intense light, but cover a small area, which is ineffective for the sizes of our rooms.

People use them in ceiling lamps. They put them up in twos or fours and use colored glass to slightly attenuate their intensity.

The problem is that neither my father nor I have the money for those kinds of lamps. To replace the ones we have could cost 100 CUCs or more (over a $100 USD). In my case, I’ve resisted relying on those energy saving bulbs, though now the last of my old florescent tubes has burnt out and my house has been left in the dark.

I don’t know why the stores fail to stock enough “cold light bulbs,” as they’re called here. They’re relatively inexpensive, about 1 CUC, but ultimately they don’t last that long.

It’s not my intention to criticize or to elaborate a treatise concerning the shortage of cold light bulbs. I’m writing this dairy entry today solely out of my need for help.

So, if anyone has seen that product recently in one of the shops here in town, please let me know where I can buy at least one.