A tacky solution to making sure those memories stick

In one of the more serendipitous stories of modern invention, a materials scientist working to perfect a new adhesive for the aerospace industry worked on a particular formulation for years only to ultimately discover his sticky stuff just wasn’t sticky enough to hold together the complex space-aged composites from which modern aircraft are woven.

As a matter of fact, it was barely sticky enough to tack one piece of paper to another. If the goop had but a single redeeming characteristic, it was that it left no mark upon the stuff to which it did manage to stick. The formula was promptly shelved until one day when a friend expressed his frustration at trying to keep in place the dozens of tiny bookmarks he’d placed in his choir hymnal at church. And with that, a star was born: the now ubiquitous 3m Post-it Note.

The world is now filled, not only with the original square, yellow, sticky note, but also a veritable cornucopia of additional shapes and sizes. I’ve found notes in the shape of light bulbs, kangaroos, bulldozers and even a head of broccoli. Last week at a dairy conference, I picked up a pad in the shape of a slice of Swiss cheese. I’ll unapologetically admit gathering “stickies” at conferences, trade shows and county fairs is now full-on compulsion for me.

Mind you I’m not simply hoarding here. High science has created a product of infinite utility for the perpetually absent-minded, and I am here to take full advantage of what now seems to have been crafted especially for me. Some days I doubt if I could find my way home without a sticky note. They are the bread crumbs of my daily life journey. In full testament to my constant need for guidance and reminder, I will share a story.

On many of these recent, late winter days, I battle a cold, fierce headwind along with a merciless timeclock on my bicycle ride to work the next town over. As such, I dare not take a moment to stop or detour when I spot things of interest along the way. The trip home, however, is often much less perilous and certainly more conducive to side trips and stops along the way. It’s not unusual for me to catch a passing glance of something in the morning, then make a mental note to investigate it on the way back home. The problem with mental notes is they very seldom seem to stick.

This is exactly why last Tuesday, upon arrival at work, I wrote a sticky note to remind myself to investigate what I thought to have been a horse shoe lying alongside the road in one spot and a dropped bicycle light in another. “Horseshoe, light,” the note said, and I stuck it to the front of my helmet so as not to forget. Then I promptly forgot.

At the end of the day, I saw and read that note as I picked up my helmet and became instantly consumed with the idea of finding that lucky horseshoe and subsequently scooping up what I’d thought to be a sweet, little headlight.

Sadly, upon closer examination the horseshoe turned out to be an arc of bent wire, and the bike light was merely a broken reflector. I pedaled on in disappointment, and to further frustration, I kept hearing a weird “flapping” noise coming from somewhere on my bike.

It wasn’t until I turned at a right angle to the prevailing wind that the bothersome noise revealed itself. It was the note I’d written, still stuck to my helmet and now flapping down across my right eye to convincingly remind me just how much of an absent-minded goofball I have become!

Kristin and John Lorson would love to hear from you. Write Drawing Laughter, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email John atjlorson@alonovus.com.