The tiniest can opener

At a public social gathering last Thursday, the hostess found herself in need of a can opener. I overheard her frantically asking if anyone had a can opener so that she could open a large can of frozen punch.

I dug into my purse and found one.

Maybe you've seen one like it. It's a tiny metal opener about an inch and a half long. It was issued by the United States armed forces to servicemen. When the soldiers were out in the field and ate prepared meals from cans, they used the can openers to open their individual emergency C-rations. There's a single small drilled hole where the soldier could tie a string to wash and sterilize the can opener with other mess gear. The entire lightweight can opener is about half the size of a military dog tag.

I accumulated a few of them while my husband served in the USAF. In recent years, the little can openers have come in handy on camping trips or picnics. They fit nicely into a pocket of a purse, taking up almost no space. The novel can openers were manufactured in Union City, Tenn. I have no idea if they are being manufactured today.

The simple opener reminds me of how complicated we have become, with cell phones, lap computers, digital components and remotes, answering machines and state of the art cameras.

Where once women carried a plain handbag, there are now organizers with compartments for a cell phone, cigarette case, eye glasses, makeup, credit cards, checkbook, wallet and keys. They are bigger than a bus.

For years we were content with windup clocks with windup alarms that buzzed us awake each morning. Now we have push button electric clocks with CD players, snooze alarms, backup batteries, timers to stop and start music.

The simple percolator that brewed coffee on the kitchen stove has been replaced with electric coffee makers with timers to start our morning coffee before we ever get out of bed. They automatically remember to shut themselves off if we should forget and leave them on.

Even the rag mop has lost favor. Now we have sponge mops with replaceable heads and mechanisms that wring out the sponge or pad for us. We need never put our hands in dirty mop water, or wring mops by hand if we don't want to.

The simple straw broom with wooden handle is being replaced with vacuum cleaners with wind tunnels and water reservoirs.

Take the simple bobby pin. Females used to pin curl strands of wet hair, let it dry, remove the pins, then comb it out. It was that simple. Now we spend hours and dollars getting our hair colored, permed, streaked, teased, oiled, trimmed, washed and set. We have electric hair dryers, curling irons and brushes, magnetic rollers, and combs that untangle, tease, or lift the hair.

We used to go camping in tents. Now we have travel campers with slide out rooms, plus full bathrooms, king size beds, awnings, modern appliances, air conditioning and sun roofs.

Trucks now have extended cabs with seats as comfortable as a living room sofa. Features include satellite communication to find out weather and road conditions or travel information. Futuristic dash boards light up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Farm equipment has come a long way since horse and plow days too. This is not to say that all these modern improvements aren't good. Not at all.

I'm saying that sometimes it takes a simple G.I. can opener to remind us just how far we've come...how much we've changed.