INTRODUCTION

        As you enjoy reading a book, a lightbulb is burning alive inside that reading lamp. You hear the doorbell; it sounds cheerful, but it’s actually being electrocuted to let you know someone’s at the door.

You put this book back in its shelf — where it will be unable to dust itself or defend its fragile pages against silverfish and termites — and let your guests in. They admire your art collection, but none of them pays any attention to the poor nails holding it to the walls.

That’s the plight of objects.

Debit cards produce money for you, but are dirt poor themselves. Scalpels and forceps help save lives every day, but surgeons get all the glory.

That pair of shoes feels tight on your feet? Imagine what the shoes are going through. Do you find it pleasant to step barefoot on the grass? The grass certainly doesn’t.

We are surrounded by suffering things and, unlike humans, things don’t have a chance to make changes in their lives, to join unions, to strike, or demonstrate on the streets. They can’t verbalize their frustrations, reward themselves with other things, or even have a break: personal belongings that go on vacation with you are just transferred from one dark closet to another.

This blog is a tribute to all the inanimate man-made and natural things that are constantly facing risk, discomfort, and boredom, to make our lives better.