From The Storyteller
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Sept. 9, 2019, Innovation
I’m in Starbucks at 9:30 in the morning. There are eight men drinking coffee, and everyone one of them has a three day beard. Curiosity drives me to Google “razors”. I discover there actually are razors designed to give that look. From straight razors to beard razors in my life time - “innovation”. Things obviously have been changing without me paying much attention. Examples: Today I noticed Mercury is advertising a 450 HP outboard motor to push a ski boat. Wow, I started behind a 25. My high school, faithful, Converse gym shoes have somehow been transformed into Air Jordans. This story is being written as hurricane Dorian is moving up the East Coast. Note: The weather folks are doing a pretty good job of predicting what the next few days will bring. Which led me to marvel at the gazillion other “innovations” that have happened because humans have an infinite capacity for creativity. Harry Potter, NASCAR, and making good weather predictions didn’t just dropped down from heaven. Different people, with totally different interests, have spent hundreds of thousands of hour creating all the things we enjoy now. Ordinary people, actively engaged in life, have poured the foundations we stand on. Which leads me to why three day beards made me smile. These men are enjoying razors designed by creative folks who have gone before them. Looking out the window to my back yard, I realize the trees that give my house shade today were planted by an unknown person, and today I’m enjoying a gift made twenty years ago. This made me smile. It also brought me a feeling of gratitude. Such a great gift from a person I’ll never meet. I finally softly said, “Thank you for the trees.” Moral: Saying thank you to folks you will never meet, helps keep you honest. |