You know who I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season? Inventors. I have a huge amount of admiration for people who can see a problem and then come up with a solution, beginning with the wheel.
I think about what a wonderful invention the wheel is whenever I push the garbage can to the curb. What a drag — literally — the world would be without wheels.
I’m also indebted to whomever came up with electricity. I used to assume that was Thomas Edison, but apparently a bunch of brainiacs came up with bits and pieces over the years.
However it all shook out, I’m glad those bright folks figured it out. It’s hard to say when electricity is most appreciated. Would it be during the hot and humid days of summer when the air conditioner is more welcome than a winning lottery ticket or during the dark early evenings in winter when the simple act of turning on a lamp somehow makes the world feel safe again? It’s a toss-up. All I know for sure is that nothing beats a strand of Christmas lights to cheer a person up when they’re feeling low and now, thanks to LED lights, another great invention, those Christmas lights shine brighter than ever.
Another fabulous invention was the remote car starter. When you live in the upper Midwest, a remote car starter is one of those luxuries that quickly feels like a necessity. The thought of going back to the days of having to sit in your car with chattering teeth and frozen toes while waiting for the engine to warm up is a gloomy one indeed. I’d rank the remote car starter right up there with television, fireplace, and garage door remotes. All excellent inventions that we can no longer imagine living without.
Speaking of remote car starters, another enjoyable invention is the car. I have a love-hate relationship with cars. While I think we’d all be much healthier and possibly happier if cars had never been invented, I also don’t want to have to walk everywhere. We’re all so used to being able to jump into our own automobiles whenever the whim strikes us that it would be very hard NOT to have a car waiting in the driveway. True, cars are getting far too expensive to buy and maintain and other drivers have become complete maniacs on the road, but it’s still awfully nice to wake up one morning and decide that you’d like to go to a thrift store in Des Moines and be able to drive yourself there before lunchtime.
The final inventor I’m grateful to is the big guy upstairs, the ultimate inventor, God. While I’m grateful to Him for innumerable things, something I’ve been thinking about lately is that I’m especially grateful that sooner or later we all die. While it seems like some people seem to be planning on hanging around indefinitely, we all know that simply isn’t possible. And wouldn’t it be terrible if there were a select few who could live forever?
You know the type they’d be. Super rich and most likely super obnoxious. They’d stick around for centuries, getting on everyone’s nerves and never realizing that their much younger relatives were waiting for the will to finally be read. If the Fountain of Youth, or perhaps the Fountain of Longevity was a real thing, it would completely mess up the rest of the world.
But God in His wisdom has given everyone an expiration date. Time, and eventually death, are the great equalizers, and while we might not understand why, it is somewhat soothing to know no one can escape it. The phrase “we’re all in the same boat” seems especially true when you look at that boat as your own personal Titanic.
With that thought in mind, it might be a good idea to thank God or whoever you think came up with this mysterious world for letting us be here to enjoy one more turkey, gravy, and plenty of stuffing. That’s the plan at our house because no one’s Titanic has pulled into port this year and for that we are truly grateful.
Nell Musolf is a freelance writer based in Mankato. She can be reached at nmusolf@gmail.com.