Writober 2026 − Contraption

My dad is an inventor. It’s the coolest thing for a dad to be. You say you have a problem and your dad invents a contraption to fix your problem. My dad has created shoes that don’t require bending over to lace, he’s created retractable ski poles and bike saddles. At work, my dad has participated in a countless number of patents. I think my dad is pretty great. And he’s also my constant reminder that being an inventor with dozens of patents that bear your name doesn’t necessarily come with a diploma. My dad came from a family where finishing high school was ambitious and much less useful and valued than having trade skills early. His older brother stopped before the end of high school, and he never even considered doing better than his brother. When he learned that he hadn’t made it into general high school because of his grade in Spanish, he signed up for trade school where he’d become a tractor mechanic − a pretty good job in 1980s « diagonal of the void » France. Then, he learned…