Good Ideas

            The post it-notes finally tipped the scale. They were everywhere—cluttering up my nightstand, coffee table, kitchen counter, dining room table, closet door, desk.

They had been such a good idea. I had noticed I was having trouble remembering all the stuff my brain manufactured: Books to read, movies to watch, blog ideas, shopping list, writing notes, sites to visit, friends to call, and the endless ToDo list. Everything I read, saw, or heard triggered an idea I wanted to keep. And I couldn’t hold it all in my mind, not with all the other distractions. (I suspect my aging brain was not helping matters, but we aren’t going there.) I knew I had to do something and so began the process of mucking about in my head to come up with a workable solution. And then I thought of post-it notes. What a good idea!

Costco sells them by the bunch and in lovely pastel shades. I bought them in all sizes and colors and placed them strategically about the house. And now, months later, I was knee-deep in pretty little scraps of sticky paper. I had a whole stack I couldn’t decipher. What on earth was I thinking when I wrote “mag—coda?” Or what about “X O language?” “fruit--mistake?”

I thought (segue-like) about the horse problem in New York City back in the olden days. That had been a good idea. People needed to get around and horses seemed like a good solution to that problem. Didn’t take long until everyone was knee deep in –you know what. And then they built the automobile. Good idea! Only now we’re nose deep in pollution. It seems that answers to problems just create more problems. What’s next?

But back to the post-its. This morning I thought about a notebook. Writers love notebooks.  No more sticky papers getting misplaced. No more random ideas floating about the rooms in my house. No more undecipherable messages. I’d have a whole page for an idea. I could get a nice fat one with a spiral binding and take it with me everywhere. Or maybe a composition book, those cheap notebooks with the mottled cardboard cover.  A Moleskin. How about a hand-made one. The possibilities are endless. And I’d have everything in one place. Good idea! I wonder if Costco…