Lost my edc streamlight sl20 flashlight which was stolen by a co-worker, in the early 90's. a week later i saw him with it, knowing he never had an sl20. my boss just happened to be there when i confronted him, and begged me to check my records to see if i had the serial number so she could fire the guy. couldn't prove it, but since i carried it so long, i knew every nick and scratch on it and i knew it was mine. that's when i became a flashaholic. it was my only light so i ended up buying 2 to make sure i'd always have a backup. i started fixing them, and because of that, everyone started giving me lights that were old and broken, in exchange for the streamlights i repaired.
i joined the forum shortly after my 10 year old, who just started walking at the time, threw out my brand new streamlight strion. i had it in the charger and he found it, using it around the house while my wife washed the dishes. he was rolling it across the kitchen floor and the battery died. unbeknowst to her, he chucked it. she took the garbage out and put the containers at the curb, then took jr. out to play. i started searching for the light the next morning, when my wife said he was playing with it in the kitchen. after tearing, the kitchen then the house apart (do you see symptoms of flashaholism yet?), i interrogated my little one and he led me to the crime scene. remembering the sound of the garbage truck that morning, i curled up on the floor in a puddle of tears, sucking my thumb. i scolded my wife for letting him play with my work tools, and told her she's getting me a new one by father's day or else.
father's day came and went with no flashlight. so i bought a few more for myself...