“Necessity is the mother of invention.” 

This phrase, or some version thereof, goes all the way back to the mid-6th century.  It has been used to explain the reason and the need for so many things. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell thought it would be nice to be able to talk to each other over wires as opposed to just reading something someone said.

Spring in Chicago, which sometimes feels like an oxymoron, is officially here.  It’s lovely.  The birds are singing, the spring perennials in my garden have beaten the odds and bloomed amidst the freezing-to-hot-to-freezing weather we’ve had, and, miracle of miracles, summer is closer every day.

I like when I’m checking out somewhere and there is an opportunity to “round up” to the next dollar amount and the money (less than a dollar) goes to a particular entity.  You get to decide and give a bit, all in the same 10 seconds.