Soft Landing

It’s been said that “necessity is the mother of invention” — even if sometimes you aren’t inventing anything but simply need to find something “that works” in an odd situation. So necessity is also the mother of improvisation — and RVers are a pretty good lot when it comes to improvising.

Consider: Flip flops — a generic term for cushioned sandals with just a simple Y-shaped strap — are part of my daily wardrobe all year long. I spent most of my life in a buttoned-down world, and no longer feel the need to frequent places where the weather or circumstance dictates wearing real shoes for any extended length of time. Little did I realize, though, just how handy these inexpensive synthetic cushions for my feet could be.

Recently, RV Enthusiast Technical Director Bill Gehr and I were working on a project when getting on his knees was necessary to make the repair. Kneeling for long periods of time just doesn’t cut it for us old guys. Bill called out, “Do you have any knee pads?” Well, of course I did, but they were locked up in a storage compartment. Rather than take the time to dig out the pads, I threw him a pair of flip flops that had just become unwearable because of a broken toe strap. With a big smile on his face, Bill discovered that, in his words, “Hey, these things really work!”

You guessed it. The old broken flip flops (I wear Crocs, but most any brand will work) have been saved from the dumpster and made their way to my onboard tools. I’ll always opt for wearing knee pads, but it’s nice to know there’s a ready alternative.