A misplaced Nerf dart. Not so bad, eh?
The Location
A light. More specifically, the cup-shaped cover under one of many bulbs on a high hanging light.
The Challenge
The light is out of reach by hand, about four feet from the railing in the loft. The standing ladder is not tall enough to reach it from the floor. There is an extendable feather duster, but it does not have a grab-nabber attachment.
The First Attempt
Try to dust it out. Try not to swing light too much but dammit the dart is really lodged in there.
The Danger
Son keeps wanting to observe from right under the light, presumably to catch the dart if it drops. The light is swinging farther now and in theory it should be quite secure but parental paranoia kicks in and you can see the whole damn light come crashing down…
The Solution
Clear son from under light by telling him to get a roll of masking tape, in laundry room. Remove tip from feather duster and extend it to its full length. When son arrives with tape, tear off foot-long strip of tape, wrap once around the tip of the feather duster, and crumple the remaining length into a semi-loose ball. Drop tape ball into cup-light and go fishing.
The Result
Tape made contact and loosened dart, then on the next attempt it made sustained contact. Success! Dart cleared from light.
Lesson Learned
Not a damn thing. It happened before and it’ll happen again. Maybe not this exact Nerf dart and this exact light, but a similar situation will present itself, I’m sure.
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