GRATEFULS

GRATEFUL IN JANUARY

Copyright Ruth Lampert January 14, 2012

There is no penalty for expressing thanks after Thanksgiving Day.  Or for advance expression, which is actually what this blog is.  Yeah, right. I appreciate your believing that.

Be it belated or 10 months early, I would like to now offer raise and appreciation to the many heretofore unsung heroes who have used their imaginations – in some cases genius – to enhance the quality of our lives. It seems hard to believe now, but there was a time back in the dark pages of history when there was a separate line in front of each teller in the bank. The customer was forced to make an agonizing decision: Which would be the fastest line, with? Which were the customers with brief transactions, and which with long, complicated ones.  And why was the line I chose always the longest? Now, just get in place at the end of that one curving line, and – no contest.

Someday someone may note in his/her own list of gratefuls that grocery stores have adopted this   idea, going beyond the “15 items or less” standard.  I will probably be unaware because in the last year or so I have – gratefully – taken advantage of the wonderful “Yummy.com” store, which offers telephone as well as on-line service.  I read the friendly clerk my list, he/she reads it back, and voila! In 30 minutes – yes, I said 30 minutes – the groceries are delivered to my door.  And everything is good quality.  And about the same prices as conventional markets.  And I am not being paid to tell you about this! (I know, some people actually enjoy the in-store shopping experience.  Since I now use a walker, and no longer drive, this service is – well, something I am mightily enormously grateful for. Now if they would just put everything away…..no, no, I will not be greedy….)

Back in my old brick-and-mortar shopping days, I  appreciated the discount coupons being on the outside of the package so I could redeem them immediately in the store instead of waiting until I got home, opened the package, put the coupon on the refrigerator door with a little magnet and then forget to redeem it until after the expiration date had passed.

And who was the genius who first conceived of refrigerator magnets? And self-stick postage stamps? And suitcases on wheels?  And Velcro?

And laundering directions sewn right into the garment?

And Post-Its! Yes Virginia, there really was a time

when there were no Post-Its. I recall hearing a story about how they were invented by accident – the glue was meant to be permanent but behold! It wasn’t! And suddenly the appearance of our world changed forever as notes were stuck onto table tops and mirrors and later computer screens and they could/can be removed almost without a trace!!

And how about those big caps on bottles and tubes  so they can be stored upside down thus making the contents easier to dispense – especially shampoo?

Who is/was the nutritional guru who told us to store fruit in a brown bag so it would ripen more evenly?  

How many of you remember way back when in the dark old days there – were – no — disposable diapers? It’s true. I swear it.

So here’s an idea I hope someone somewhere is working on:

Jars that are child-proof but not me-proof.

Why don’t I parent this myself?  Because I am a writer and a retired psychotherapist, not an inventor. Which is a natural segue to:

Blogs. This phenomenon is much more professional sounding that “self published” or “personal journal.”