A Toast To Ingenuity...

I was thinking about great inventions the other day. I don't know why. Oh wait - yes I do...it was because of Mom. She had to go to the store and buy some white-out. Which reminded me of Peter Nesmith's mom. She's the one that invented white-out. Which, then reminded me of the Monkees. You know, that fake singing group from the 60's that somehow got their own TV show. Peter was the one in that group that always wore a toboggan. Which, I must say, I never understood. What was the point? Kind of like the guy in the Mamas and the Papas that always wore that funky fur hat. Musicians can be really weird sometimes. Anyway...then when I thought of the Monkees I started singing "Cheer Up Sleepy Jean" or whatever the name of that song was in my head and nearly went insane the remainder of the day.

I hate when that happens.

But...I digress. Back to inventions. Do you ever stop to consider some of the really cool inventions we have? I mean, think about white-out. It's really awesome stuff. Well, unless you get too much on your page and it gets all clumpy on you. Then you try to wipe it off with your finger and just end up smearing it all over the place, except for that one glob that becomes a craggly little white-out mountain in the middle of your letter and is impossible to write on, but you try anyway and then the tip of your pen get all clogged up and won't write anything else at all after that. All the while you're trying to get the stuff that dried on your finger off but deep down you know that the only way you'll ever get it off your skin is to use a power washer, so you just resign yourself to the fact that you'll never get to finish your smeared up, clumpy letter with your clogged pen...and you'll no doubt die with white-out stained fingers.

Maybe that's bad example to use.

Let's take the remote control instead. Think about it...who in the world was sitting on their couch one day and just decided..."I would like a little box that I can just point at my TV and make the channels change with the press of a button!" All I can venture is...it had to be a couch-potato American. (Probably one of the ones from my last blog who is contributing to the "obesity epidemic" in America.) But just imagine life now without the remote control.

***Shudder***

To prove my point...Have you ever lost your remote? What do you do? Don't lie..I know...you spend 45 minutes tearing everything in the house apart trying to find it, all the while fussing and fuming because you're about to miss the show you really wanted to see while you continue to watch some show about the mating habits of the North American Turtle like a tortured prisoner who can't escape his cell, don't you? Of course in about 3.7 seconds you could have just walked over to the TV and changed the channel manually...but that is not the point! Life is disrupted! We have to find the remote!!! How will we survive without it??!! And then just when you've reached you're final breaking point -- There it is!! Wedged like a piece of pie in the cushion of the couch...or tidily laying in the trash can, just under the used coffee grounds where your child so kindly placed it for you....or on the back of the toilet because you carried into the bathroom when you had to go.........eh, let's not go there. Ahh...all is right with the world again.

So anyway - my point is - never take a great idea for granted. It may just revolutionize YOUR world someday!

(You'll have to forgive me tonight. I didn't get home from work until 9:00, and my mind is about gone. Plus, I just discovered I have white-out all over my finger. So, now I'm going to lay down and try and get some rest. Just as soon as I find the remote to turn off the blasted TV...)