Night Light of the North Coast: Isolated Thoughts and Silver Linings

A lonely figure in the night looks out into the world from deep within the comforting recesses of his own thoughts. May 23, 2020 in Humboldt County, California.

A lonely figure in the world looks out into the night from deep within the comforting recesses of his own thoughts. May 23, 2020 in Humboldt County, California.

During a global pandemic, one might understandably feel somewhat low and disinclined to search for silver linings. And yet at unexpected turns, one stumbles upon them anyway.

Look at reflection. For many people, there is a great deal of time for thinking now. I’m prone to embrace opportunities to reflect anyway, but observations suggest it’s not so for everyone. While for some it may be difficult to be alone, it’s also the best time to delve deeper into your own thoughts.

Solitude affords the opportunity to choose any thoughts you’ve ever had, and explore them. You have your entire catalog. Ignore old thoughts you don’t want to rerun. You may yet learn or discover things from exploring your own previous and partially-examined musings, for in examining them more closely you may find that some of them link in previously unseen ways. Or maybe you’ll find your creative self is writing you a story or taking you on a fantastic voyage as your mind plays. My nighttime photography often gives my mind time to wander the thought trails of discovery.

And sometimes it yields a more tangible experience.

Bear spray is HOT, I can now tell you with perfect assurance. One of those silver linings. Not that this insight arose from all that thinking; it was more of a physical lesson from last night’s photographic adventure. Still, let’s embrace it.

When photographing at night I usually have some bear spray with me — you know, in case it actually works and some critter gets the idea I’m a snack. While my night photography is often a solo expedition, last night I was fortunate that my wife joined me on a midnight outing to capture the accompanying photograph, for she was a big help when the evening ended with some surprise first-hand insights into the effectiveness of bear spray.

It was late, after 1:00 a.m. when we got home. As I pulled my pack out of the car, the bear spray in the pack’s outer side compartment rubbed across the seat, which dislodged its trigger guard, and, in the same motion, depressed the thumb trigger briefly. TSHHHHHT!

I heard the sharp hiss and felt the wind of it against the side of my face almost simultaneously, but I was quick enough to close my eyes at the first sound and to stop breathing. Fortunately I had a partial breath, and as I backed quickly away from the cloud I exhaled steadily to clear out any that I’d breathed in. I knew some had gotten in as I could smell it. Most of it had passed over my shoulder, but the edge of the blast got the corner of my eye, cheek, and hair.

Ok, I thought after a moment. It’s not so bad. By the next moment I was reconsidering. It was HOT!

If from one moment to the next the difference was that steep, I knew I’d better get inside quickly and rinse it out. But by the next moment I couldn’t see very well, for it hurt too much to keep that eye open, and it turned out the other eye was irritated as well and beginning to be painful to keep open. I dropped my stuff in the driveway and stumbled inside as quickly as I could, explaining to my wife as I shed my shirt and headed to the sink.

Imagine in your mouth a great glob of the hottest habanero paste ever, burning your tongue to a tortured crisp and consuming your mouth in pain — and then take that sensation of mangled, burned tongue and smear the searing feeling onto your cheek and your neck and your eye. I love hot food, and as I experienced this in my eye, on my skin, the burnt-hot smell of it in my sinuses, I thought about it in the back of my mind, and I could not find in the experience any but the most distant of relation to the spicy peppers I love to eat. This, I decided, could never be food.

Lots of rinsing at the sink followed by a late night shower fixed it all up. Afterward, at the urging of my wife, I called the Poison Control number on the canister and the helpful guy told me I’d already done everything right. Today my eye is ok, but my cheek and neck feel as if they’d seen too much sun yesterday. And the residue is still dangerous. After handling my clothes to wash them this morning, a nice welt and some itchy spots developed on my hands where I touched some of the stuff. It’s strong stuff.

Serious Recommendation: If you go into the field with bear spray, bring enough water to wash it out of your eyes. If this had happened out in the field, my canteen would not have sufficed. You will want a lot of water.

It is amazing sometimes what revelations a photographic outing can bring. Silver linings!

To read previous entries of “Night Light of the North Coast,” click on my name above the article. To keep abreast of my most current photography or purchase a print, visit and contact me at my website mindscapefx.com or follow me on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx .

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Willie Bray
Guest
3 years ago

🕯🌳Thank you Kym and David for sharing, and yes that stuff is hot I make my own. Hope your alright. And again thanks for the relief from what had become the norm. Live long and prosper. Happy Memorial Day. 🖖🇺🇸🖖🇺🇸🖖

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago

Thanks for the great picture and story! Always a highlight!

North west
Guest
North west
3 years ago

A cop friend gave a bunch of us kids a demonstration once with a short burst away from us but the wind drift still got us.
That tiny sample was the reason I truly think using Q-tips to put it in people’s eyes is vary vary wrong.

David Wilson
Guest
3 years ago

Thanks, you guys. I appreciate it. I’m fine after my encounter and a lot of rinsing out.

For reference, the bear spray I have is “UDAP Pepper Power Bear Deterrent.” The active ingredient is listed as “Capsaicin and related capsaicinoids 2.0%” and it says it’s made from “Oleoresin of Capsicum”.

I test-fired the canister once after I bought it in order to find out what to expect. The canister is about 8″ tall, and blasts out a visible cloud to about 30′ with a force I could feel pushing my arm back. I was fortunate that I only got a quick spurt and a glance off the side of my face.

Now when transporting, I’m going to keep the bear spray inside a bag or something: If the pack were to shift while driving in just the right way, it’s conceivable that the trigger could become depressed for long enough to fill the car with noxious fumes, which would be a disaster while driving.

Mighty Midget
Guest
Mighty Midget
3 years ago

And best not to leave it in the hot sun in your car, backpack, etc. I had one go off in my car once. I couldn’t use it for weeks. Also, swim goggles can save your eyes from the back drift, if you have time to put them on. I keep an old pair with my spray…in a heavy duty ziplock. And a lovely covid mask would be a good addition to the bag…the look alone should cause bubba bear to pause…