We all reach a certain stage of life where you don’t need anything for your birthday or Christmas. Part of the reason we give socks and sweaters to older people is because we can’t think up something useful or fun to give them.
“I’m going to get grandpa Harvey that flashing electric belt for Christmas mom. It will make him laugh,” the 18-year-old grandson relates to his mother.
Your drawers fill up with colorful underwear over the years, tee shirts from the college you attended and lounge pants with the logo of your favorite sports team. All because your needs have been filled and no one can come up with a creative idea that’s new for a present.
That’s the challenge. Two Christmas’s ago, I got a gift that seemed to be a joke, but has turned out to be one of the most useful presents ever received: ice shoe spikes.
These are removable spikes designed to be worn in icy winter conditions. I thought to myself when I unwrapped the gift, “Uh, yeah, sure, like I’m ever going to wear these.” And, of course, I was wrong to act ironic. The spikes have probably saved me from a hospital visit 3-4 times over the past two years.
Our driveway is long and gravelled. After snow blowing/plowing, it still retains a slight coating of snow. In addition to its length, our driveway is surrounded by trees, so there is no direct sunlight to thaw leftover snow when the temps rise above 32 degrees.
As a result, packed snow and ice melt that refreezes stay in place for LONG periods of time, and walking on this is treacherous. Four days a week, I take our two dogs the length of the driveway off leash so they can run as I pick up our newspaper. Most of the year, that walk is relaxing, safe and uneventful.
Not this time of year. Instead, it’s slippery, dangerous and capable of wrenching your back or causing a head or hip injury if you fall. Wiping out is a real concern.
Enter that Christmas gift. The ice shoe spikes are made of rubber and go over your shoes like galoshes. Stretch them out and pull them on. You’re good to go. The closest analogy is having golf spikes on. They dig into the turf.
This allows you to much more safely navigate the terrain when you see a sheet of ice facing you in the morning. Crunching along, you can move much more closely to the pace you achieve during the summer, not worrying about taking a tumble. You may even hum, sing or whistle a tune because you’re more relaxed.
The ice shoe spikes are brilliant in design, and whoever came up with the idea should be enshrined in the Smart Product Hall of Fame. Members must come up with something that is actually useful in world, performing a function that improves the life of someone.
I’d like to pat the back of the person who invented these and once again thank the member of my family (I’m pretty sure it’s my wife) who bought them for me. I guess she wants me around awhile longer.
“I’m going to get grandpa Harvey that flashing electric belt for Christmas mom. It will make him laugh,” the 18-year-old grandson relates to his mother.
Your drawers fill up with colorful underwear over the years, tee shirts from the college you attended and lounge pants with the logo of your favorite sports team. All because your needs have been filled and no one can come up with a creative idea that’s new for a present.
That’s the challenge. Two Christmas’s ago, I got a gift that seemed to be a joke, but has turned out to be one of the most useful presents ever received: ice shoe spikes.
These are removable spikes designed to be worn in icy winter conditions. I thought to myself when I unwrapped the gift, “Uh, yeah, sure, like I’m ever going to wear these.” And, of course, I was wrong to act ironic. The spikes have probably saved me from a hospital visit 3-4 times over the past two years.
Our driveway is long and gravelled. After snow blowing/plowing, it still retains a slight coating of snow. In addition to its length, our driveway is surrounded by trees, so there is no direct sunlight to thaw leftover snow when the temps rise above 32 degrees.
As a result, packed snow and ice melt that refreezes stay in place for LONG periods of time, and walking on this is treacherous. Four days a week, I take our two dogs the length of the driveway off leash so they can run as I pick up our newspaper. Most of the year, that walk is relaxing, safe and uneventful.
Not this time of year. Instead, it’s slippery, dangerous and capable of wrenching your back or causing a head or hip injury if you fall. Wiping out is a real concern.
Enter that Christmas gift. The ice shoe spikes are made of rubber and go over your shoes like galoshes. Stretch them out and pull them on. You’re good to go. The closest analogy is having golf spikes on. They dig into the turf.
This allows you to much more safely navigate the terrain when you see a sheet of ice facing you in the morning. Crunching along, you can move much more closely to the pace you achieve during the summer, not worrying about taking a tumble. You may even hum, sing or whistle a tune because you’re more relaxed.
The ice shoe spikes are brilliant in design, and whoever came up with the idea should be enshrined in the Smart Product Hall of Fame. Members must come up with something that is actually useful in world, performing a function that improves the life of someone.
I’d like to pat the back of the person who invented these and once again thank the member of my family (I’m pretty sure it’s my wife) who bought them for me. I guess she wants me around awhile longer.