Calling Lester Lightbulb

When I was in grade school, we had a cartoon lightbulb named Lester who taught Gen X kids to turn off the lights when you left a room.

I decided this after driving along the highway late at night and seeing miles of empty – yet still brightly lit – office buildings. From glowing yellow bulbs to flickering monitor screens, it was like whizzing past a giant Star Trek console.

Aren’t these the same companies that helped create Alexa and her timer? Can they not figure out how to set their own timer?

I’m no financial whiz, but I do know that controlling expenses is important to the bottom line. From the smallest dwelling to the largest house, the best way to save money (and do the right thing) is to watch your costs.

It’s common sense, really.

When I think about it, my mother worked two jobs to keep our family and home afloat. I cannot tell you how many nights we gathered under a blanket rather than turn the heat on in September. Some years we closed whole rooms rather than incur the costs of using them.

And at school, there was Lester Lightbulb, of course. I can still close my eyes and see all of us little Gen Xers filing off to the media room to learn how

Which brings me to my conclusion.  There are only two possible answers as to why the lights are always on in today’s corporate America.  The first is that someone isn’t paying attention to the bottom line.

The second is they make so much money from us, that they don’t care about conserving anything – even more money.

I’ll leave it for you to decide.

October 2024