I’m fairly good at it.  I can look at one problem from several different viewpoints, gather salient facts as needed, and make a decision about solving it – and do this in a very short time span.  There was one time when my wife came to me while I was at work (back in St. Louis – I was supervising a private swimming pool at the time) to inform me that she had wrecked our new car (her words, sobbed through copious quantities of tears) by getting hit by a truck while stopped at a traffic light.

It took me about 2 seconds to realize that if she was stopped, the accident was NOT her fault – and that the condition of the car didn’t matter at all when weighed against whether or not SHE was alright.  There were several mothers there with their kids, and the rest of the day I could tell that their attitude towards me changed.  My first words to my wife, which everyone heard me say, were, “Screw the damned car – are YOU okay?”

Well, there is one problem my wife and I have been gnawing on ever since we met.  In fact, she was dealing with it before she met me.  It’s about her bed.  It has a full-sized mattress and box spring, and a simple plywood headboard with a few cubby-holes for putting books in.  But her sheets didn’t fit – and most of our marriage she hasn’t bothered using them.

Last week, I got out a tape measure and did some fact-checking.  The sheets she had for this bed are standard sheets for a full-sized mattress.  The fitted sheet has a 6″ pocket (the length of the seam that wraps the sheet around the mattress).

The mattress is 9″ deep.

After a bit of discussion, and verifying the measurements, we agreed to replace the sheets.  I ordered a fitted sheet made of microfiber in a light tan color from eBay – and made sure it had a deep enough pocket on it (this one was made for hotels – it has a 15″ pocket) – and it will be here on or about November 2.  Total cost (including shipping) was under $15.  Problem solved.

10am UPDATE:  I just found this article that totally applies to this subject –

http://www.yourtango.com/2015282062/scatterbrained-people-are-basically-geniuses