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Taking It For Granted
Last week while I was substitute-teaching an English class, I was reading part of a story set in the 1700s. At one point there is a reference to a youngster almost forgetting to bring his "ink bottle and quill" to school. I asked the class what that was all about, and we discussed how much easier it is for us to have a simple ballpoint pen instead of having to carry a bottle of ink and quill around.
Those little inkpens are probably something we just take for granted these days. If I were to gather up pens from all over my house it would probably total over a hundred. They perform the job better than their predecessors and the cost remains very inexpensive. You can probably buy a pretty good one for 89 cents and it will last years. Heck, some businesses and politicians hand them out free.
And any of us who have survived the days of early television realize the convenience of the remote control. I don't know when that little device came into existence, but it sure is a great toy that I'm sure many people younger than I take for granted. I can recall sitting in the living room and Dad saying, "Turn the channel." I'd jump up, go across the living room, turn the channel and return to my chair, only to get the command, "No, turn it back." Being able to just sit back in the lounge chair and scan all two hundred channels without moving anything more than your thumb is quite convenience.
This week I found another device that most of us probably take for granted -- the electric can opener. I say this because mine broke. A little metal piece fell off while I was opening a can of tuna fish. Talk about a mess. Now the electric can opener starts to open the can and after a few inches the can curves off and falls to the counter. You have to start it over about 15 times to get enough holes in the lid to pry the remainder open with a fork. Meanwhile my hands and arms get splashed with the liquid from inside the can. I searched my kitchen drawers for the old-fashioned manual can opener and none could be found. I think today I will buy myself a new electric can opener.
So on my way to the department store I'm sure I will listen to the car radio, which is something else we all take for granted. No charge! No hidden costs! Just free radio. Music, talk shows like Rush Limbaugh, Al Franken, Imus in the Morning, and sports events. And the best radio show of all, Corm and the Coach! No bill in the mail at the end of the month from WIRY or the Champ or ESPN Radio.
I guess there are several little things around us that we just take for granted. I don't mean big things like our parents, our spouses, our children, our quiet neighborhood and friendly neighbors. I mean those little things that are part of our everyday lives, like pens and remote controls and electric can openers and radio.
What is there in your life that you just take for granted?
Comments
Foxy,
While "surfing" this morning, I was able to catch up on the "Sly." I just want to throw my two cents in on this topic. The one and most important thing that was not mentioned and taken most for granted; LIFE! Today, we as a whole, wake up and expect everything to be "normal." Yeah, we may have a cold, but we can pop some "remedy" of sort and off we go. Our muscles hurt, put on a heating blanket, etc. We just assume that we will live into our 70's or so and everything will be "normal." Well, that is not always the case; we need to realize the true gift that we take for granted, LIFE! As we prepare for the holiday season, realize what you have, and enjoy it like it is your last one. In closing, there is a song sung by Tim McGraw, "Live like you were dying!" That is what I believe we take for granted........everything else is kind of trivial after that. HAPPY HOLIDAYS
(Foxy's note: Well-said, Ed! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!)
Posted by: Ed McCallister | November 20, 2006 10:31 AM
Foxy,
I had to chuckle about you opening the can of tuna and getting the liquid all over you. I gave up on the electric can opener routine years ago, and now use a good quality manual one which does the job just as well. Stay away from the 'dollar store' varieties. Back to the can of tuna fish. Did you know that 'tuna fish' is a sure giveaway that you are using a U.S. expression? Most Canadians would refer to it as a can of tuna ( leaving out the fish which is obvious). As a matter of fact there are various nuances between English used in the U.S.and Quebec and Ontario. When I moved to Ontario 15 years ago the locals would laugh at my Quebec English. Quebec English naturally brings in some French influences, but also a strong Yiddish accent and flavor from the Jewish immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.
That would be an interesting blog topic, seeing that Canada is so much a part of your local economy.
(Foxy's note: As an English teacher, I've always been interested in the various terms used for items around our own country and into nearby Quebec. A future blog? I agree! Thanks!)
Posted by: Norm Stotland | November 16, 2006 11:02 PM
Foxy, I was talking with my 16 year old stepson the other day, and he asked me what video games I played when I as a kid! Well I told him that the closest thing to video games when I was his age was a pinball machine. I also told him we had no home computer, color TV, VHS, or DVD, music CD's, or microwave ovens, remotes or the like. He told me he didn't think he could live in my generation, and it would boring. "How did you live like that", he asked?? Well, I told him, that if it's not available, and it hadn't been invented yet, you don't miss it. I also told him, we spent more time outside playing baseball, football, basketball, with the neighborhood kids. There was also youth swimming lessons and fishing. In the winter, we had our local special little hill accross the street from where my parents still live in West Chazy, that my neighbors the Barcombs, and the Oakley's would make sure to dump water on the slope to make it slick and fast. Although not as big as the hill in your neighborhood Foxy, it was alot less crowded. We would also build those super snow forts and have the snowball wars that legends are made of!! We also had a pond in the woods, that we skated on. Later we rode those old tippy, smoky, loud, and often broken, snowmobiles. For me, life wasn't that boring.
Posted by: sparcat | November 14, 2006 8:03 AM
Things I take for granted:
1. A refridgerator -- I can buy a lot of food that will keep for weeks in there. Not to mention that I can pack the freezer full as well, without having to get the ice man to deliver the block of ice.
2. Paper towels and napkins - quick, handy, and disposable
3. Shoe strings
4. Electricity and running water
5. Salt and pepper
6. Thermoses and thermostats,too, for that matter
7. Zip lock bags and tupperware
The list could go on and on. All of these things have been around my entire life but that's not true for everyone. And last, and extremely important.......
8. Deoderant, toothpaste, shampoo, and the like.
Have a beautiful day and appreciate the sun today!
Posted by: kathy | November 13, 2006 12:17 PM
A few things we now take for granted>
1. Color TV
2. Cartoons anyday of the week and not just Saturday morning.
3. Sports on TV anytime.
4. Shopping on Sunday
5. Newspaper on Sunday
6. Internet
The ball point pen I might point out is not a great invention. I witnessed a man routinely ruin his shirts because he kept sticking it in his breast pocket and the ink would run down his shirt. Also I vote for the person that brings the nicest pen and two days after election the pen dries up- sometimes lasts longer than the campaigners promises though.
As far as the remote I would have to say that it has led to the decline of the family. Junior no longer learns to act on the command of dad and now instead argues over remote. Worse yet, abusive wife hides the remote or one of its batteries. Have you ever tried to find one battery in a house? My way of thinking is that the one battery must be rolled up into the one sock that is never found. Interesting that socks and underwear come in pairs but you never lose half a pair of underware.
(Foxy's note: Good additions to the list, rubble! And, yes, recently one of my favorite dress shirts had to be tossed into the trash because of an ink stain.)
Posted by: rubble | November 12, 2006 8:50 AM