Things to be thankful for

Engineers.

Yep! Those nerdy guys who actually like mathematics!

It is said there are three kinds of people... those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; those who wonder what happened! Most often, it is the engineers who make things happen!

Driving on the Interstate recently, we came upon a site where a new interchange was under construction. It looked like complete chaos. Big concrete support pillars sticking up out of the ground. Wooden frames, for holding concrete forms, one would guess. Workmen swarming all over the place.

My wife noted all this and mused, "Who figures out how all of this should go?"

Engineers.

The other day I was pressing a favorite old shirt. It was getting pretty ragged, and I concluded that it would one day have to go to the rag bag. Then, I noticed, not one button was missing. But, if I discarded the old shirt, all the buttons would go with it.

That started me thinking about buttons. (Ironing is, after all, pretty boring!)

There was a time when buttons were handmade from metal, wood, animal horn, seashell, or some other natural product. Buttons were expensive. Now they are so cheap, we hardly ever save them.

Engineers.

Some bright people figured out how to make machines that make buttons inexpensively and lightning fast, so they are now abundant in every conceivable color and style.

Go to any food processing plant and you will see marvelous machines that process and package food quickly and efficiently. That brings freshness quickly to your grocers shelves, at lower cost.

Back to ironing shirts. I remember when my mother spent many hours with hot, heavy old sad irons, ironing the family laundry. Such drudgery! I won't go back to riding a horse to work. Why should my wife go back to ironing shirts? Send them to a laundry where they have machines that can press a shirt beautifully, and fast. (My exception is ragged old shirts I wear only around the house. I press them!)

Engineers.

Engineers have contributed much to making our lives better, easier, tastier, healthier, safer... I could go on and on.

This Thanksgiving, give a thought to all those calculator wielding geniuses, those engineers who make things happen.