Sticky

When certain things are sticky they can prove most annoying

I am an observationalist by nature. Rather than comment or opine, sometimes I simply like to observe. Following are several sticky observations just for you.

We were out to dinner the other night waiting patiently to be seated. The hostess finally calls our name to the delight of our groaning stomachs. Isn’t it great when your number is called? It’s almost like winning a mini lottery. You almost feel bad for the multitudes standing outside waiting for their number to be called as you happily saunter by them to your designated table. But I digress.

You weave through a myriad of tables, finally reaching your appointed destination. A booth. Cozy and compact. You sit down, place your phone beside you (everyone has a phone these days it seems) and examine the table for place settings and neatness. You then position your arms on the table and immediately feel it. A sticky residue of unknown origin beside the placemat overlooked by the stressed out busboy. What to do? You then recall last week at the very same establishment, upon opening the oversized laminated menu, you heard several snaps and pops. Another residue of unknown origin had adhered itself to the inside of page one of the menu, where the drinks are listed.

That settles it. Not coming back.

That reminds me, we’ve all been in a library or cafeteria when our hand accidentally grazes the underside of our chosen table and we feel that familiar texture of wretched chewing gum. We know where it’s been, don’t we. It’s exceptionally gooey so we know it’s fresh. Too late, we’ve already touched our clothes. Now it proceeds like a virus, clinging to everything else we grasp. Can you imagine the conversation the owner of that gum must have had with themselves? “I’m done with my gum now, I think I’ll stick it under here”.

Super Glue is a fascinating invention. Cyanoacrylate I believe it’s called. We used to use it when building our model airplanes as youngsters. If you ever need a definition of the word millisecond, think of Super Glue. That’s about how long it takes for your fingers to be fastened in whatever position they were the moment you started applying the glue.

I love honey in my coffee and tea, did I tell you that? Frankly I don’t know how honeybees manage the stuff. They must have special anti-stick appendages ‘cause it’s sticky and oh so viscous. After withdrawing the honey dispenser from its container with your cup resting nearby, you’re tempted to wait until the honey stops oozing so that you don’t make a mess on the counter. It never does. It just keeps flowing and flowing. Yet when it touches the counter or your spoon it becomes sticky once again. Magic? That also can prove to be messy very quickly. Last person to use it cleans it up!

One morning you need to send a large package in the mail so you search through the drawer and break out the oversized roll or tape. Little do you realize that the last person who used it did not leave it on the serrated edge and it has re-adhered itself to the tape roll. It’s clear tape and you find it impossible to find the edge, that is if you can even see it. Oh well, time to open a fresh roll.

Some things are designed to be sticky in a temporary sense. I think of Sticky Notes. They work great except when they lose their stickiness. Then you find them abandoned on the floor, in the corner, desperately trying to reach the person its message was intended for. So sad.

So we see that stickiness has its place in our society however annoying it may be. Remember all things sticky were not created equal so show a little compassion next time you find yourself stuck.

Jim