Significant Items

Sometimes an item will come along that works right and actually makes an impact on your life.

Growing up, I can point to two things: a bicycle and a portable transistor radio. The bicycle, a big heavy one speed gave me freedom to explore and branch out. I used it like most people use a car today. Didn’t matter that it was a girl’s model, it was transportation and I was proud of it.

The radio is probably the best Christmas present I ever got. I love listening to radio. If I am locked out of the world scene for some reason, I would want a radio. In fact, I’ve been in a similar situation when at war and found a radio to be most comforting.

But there are other things that have made a huge difference which have come along in the last ten to twelve years. The first is the cell phone. Since my office is at home, my cell phone is my office phone. Clients seldom know where I am when I am talking with them. Although I do admit embarrassment when I’m talking serious business and a loudspeaker says, “Attention WalMart customers....” Whoops, the jig is up.

I think the computer is a wonderful invention too. I had one for several years before I had access to the internet. It was great for word processing and keeping records. With the internet, it has become a communications tool and a source of knowledge. My wife and I each have our own computers and we have a laptop for traveling.

The digital video recorder is a great invention. Oh yes the old video tape recorder would record programs, the DVR does also. But the DVR allows me to stop a program, tend to a phone call or whatever and come back and resume it from just where I left off. We record more programs than we watch live and fast forward through the commercials. There’s 20 minutes of commercials in every hour of television. So by skipping through them, we can watch three hours worth in two hours.

An electric knife sharpener has been a delightful tool. A few years ago I purchased a Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener and we have had sharp knives ever since. Oh it takes a time or two to really get it right, but once you learn what you’re doing, it becomes a simple task. Sharp kitchen knives are real assets.

Our bed is another life affecting purchase. Five or six years ago we replaced our 20 year old Simmons Beauty Rest set for a Jameson. The Jameson we got is the latex mattress (12”) on springs. The first morning after we purchased it, my wife woke up and said for the first time in years, her back wasn’t hurting. For those who don’t know, latex is kin to the memory foam without the heat of memory foam. I’ve slept on both and both are very comfortable. And we opted for a low profile set of springs. The trend today is to have high beds that require us short people to use a stool to get on and off. Low profile springs are exactly the same springs found in a regular set except the regular springs have 4” of pure air space built into the frame.

Oh there are other things that could be mentioned but these are some items that have made a significant change in our everyday lives.

This time I'm spending my quarter on Sam Cooke songs. He was born in Mississippi and first recorded under the name "Dale Cook".