Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This was one of my mother’s favorite mantras for living. Like the hundreds of others she loved to spout, it made no sense to me. (Correction: It didn’t make sense to me until I was grown.)

Alas, this mantra became a reality the day I decided to wear a sleeveless blouse to work. Ever conscious of the arm flab that comes with middle age, I usually wear tops with sleeves to my elbows or longer. 

However, on this particular day, I decided to risk arm flab for looking cute. Who knew that, due to an air conditioner malfunction in my office, I would be so cold that I would be unable to feel my fingers touching my computer keyboard?
The morning started off fine. Every time I glanced at myself wearing my cute top, I felt good. You know the old saying: If you think you look good, you often feel good. All this changed around two o’clock when the temperature in my office dropped drastically and I still had three hours to go before getting off of work.

Knowing that I couldn’t make it three more hours sitting in front of my computer with my arms folded for warmth, I frantically looked around my cubicle for something—anything—to put on. Spotting a decorative cloth wall hanging I made to decorate my workspace, I snatched it off the wall and flung it around my shoulders.

My wall hanging, similar to those sporting the names or initials of colleges, was roughly about 36 inches long and about 12 inches across. The pointed end even sported a tassel the same color as the rest of the material, making it quite fancy. However, folks could tell it was something to hang on the wall, but desperate times called for desperate measures. 
Unfortunately, my fancy decorative piece also only covered one shoulder and a part of the other arm. I had to hold it in place with one hand to keep it around me, resulting in a sort of a hunting and pecking motion of the keyboard with my right hand.  

This went on for maybe an hour or so. Suddenly, I looked up to see one of the technicians from our IT department standing at my desk with a puzzled look on her face. I figured my weird typing must have made her think that I had a computer problem. (Call me paranoid but I’ve always believed that companies could watch what workers did with company computers.)

“I like your shawl”, exclaimed my co-worker, pointing to my banner/shawl. She and I had often shared stories about her growing up in Japan and my visiting there when serving in the Air Force. I burst out laughing, which must have made her think that I was crazy as well as couldn’t type. 

Incidentally, the mauve and wine colors of the banner complimented the hot pink blouse that I had on, so I could see how she thought it was part of my outfit. I explained to her what it actually was and why I was wearing . . . well, a wall hanging. As much as I’ve always hated to admit it, mother was right—AGAIN! Necessity really is the mother of invention. Acknowledging it has helped me explain a lot of my eccentric ways.

Author Carol Gee
Military Veteran|Columnist|Motivational Speaker

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