Needed

We are man, and somewhere we are needed.

The morning after being told I was laid off was sunny and warm. I had officially joined the sacked lunch bunch. Without any more excuses or reasons to be busy, I decided I should tackle assembling our new patio table. It was a flat-packed metal thing that required a handful of bolts to be tightened. Strangely, the manufacturer had included not only a small wrench and a hex-head key, but also a cleverly cheap little ratcheting wrench. It was so clever and cheap that it didn’t work at all. I realized, of course, that I own a ratchet set and should probably go and fetch it rather than follow my instincts and try and fix the nonfunctional piece of junk in my hand.

As I put together the last connection and tightened the last of the bolts, it occurred to me that some people may not own such a fundamental piece of kit and would be cursing their scarred knuckles as they struggled to use a typical screwdriver. It then dawned on me that while I had been made redundant, I was not, in fact, redundant but may still be needed. I may actually be necessary. “Yes,” I thought, “I am a man and I am necessary.”

Who else do you know that can refer to his own analogue barometer and hygrometer? Who can you count on for 1980s CFL trivia? Who can you go to when you’re wondering who designed the CN logo? Who else has thought about a New Yorker profile about the man who designed the Verdana typeface? Who will hold the other end of the board? Who will replace blown bike tires? Who will re-chain your bike using only a house key? Who will stand outside of a construction site and tut-tut that they are making a mess out of this? Who will roast your vegetables instead of steaming them? Who will grill your meat even if you’re in the mood for pizza? Who will bake the bread a hundred times until it’s better but really no one can notice any difference? Who will spend far too much time creating personalized birthday cards? Who, unsolicited, will pass judgement on the pictogram choice of public signage? Who will know trivial facts about Roman-era London? Who else is currently thinking about a recipe for homemade lemon custard raspberry swirl ice cream? Only me. All of this is needed and necessary. I am a man and I was, am, and remain necessary.