Reach Out in the Darkness and You May Find a Friend

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?” -  Robert Browning

It's a oft-repeated quote from the 19th Century English poet who went on to invent a new way to pan-fry meats before stewing (which was named in his honor).  Browning, while he was in the kitchen anyway, should also have invented the reacher-grabber, but I guess his mind was elsewhere.

For those of us who are on the BLT restriction (no bending, lifting or twisting) the reacher-grabber that you see here is the ideal tool.  The very tip is magnetic, so when you drop something metallic, it all comes back to you in a jiffy.  All other items up to and including things the size of the Sunday newspaper are fair game for the "jaw that grabs all."

The nice lady here was kind enough to drop her TV remote and show how one retrieves this unspeakably invaluable tool by using "der reachengrabberstein," as they say in Munich.  Perhaps one of my neighbors could snap a photo of me as I lumber outside at 0530 and schoop up the Morning SUN with mine.  And that's only one of a hundred uses I find for it every day.  I get cooking implements, books, DVDs, the cell phone and I don't know what-all else with this handy doodad all the livelong day.  And, when I drop the grabber on the living room floor, what to do, but go upstairs and get the upstairs "grabbeur," as they say in Paris.

Problem is, when my mobility is restored and I can damwell bend over and get things unaided, will I want to, or will I become so happy with "el grabbo" (Mexico) that I will get some sort of holster for my belt and tote it with me wherever I go?

We shall see.