Joel Cheesman

1. Rechargeable everything. I remember being a teen and having to buy loads of batteries just to power my Walkman on family trips and general usage. We had replaceable batteries that were rechargeable, but they cost like $9,000 each (adjusted for today’s dollars, of course). Now, aside from TV remotes, batteries are an endangered species.
2. Scoopable cat litter. Seriously, you used to have to throw out a whole bag of litter back in the day. And the old stuff repelled funk about as good as Polo deodorant, which means not-at-all.
3. Flat screen TVs. I was at Best Buy the other day and TVs were as thin as a pencil. What’s that about? TVs used to take up an entire living room and weigh about a million pounds. And HD? Pretty soon, picture will be clear enough to transport us to other dimensions. 
4. Crocs. I don’t wear them, but as a parent, these things are a Godsend, even trumping velcro. Throw ‘em on like flip-flops that don’t fall off. Easy to clean. And kids can put these weird widget things in them that make them feel like toys. 
5. Ibuprofen. I’m getting older. Shit hurts sometimes. I’ll also throw in Ambien, which makes travel way more tolerable.
6. Beer. Self-explanatory.
7. Steve. Dude’s as nerdy about music as I am and I always have someone to attend concerts with. Like, Nelson could be in town, and if I wanted to go, he’d be like, “Let’s do it!” And he’s very supportive of my business and has two young kids as well. This is all very hetero, BTW. Follow him.
8. Texting. Not for what you might think. When I went away to college, I rarely talked to or saw my father. It wasn’t an animosity thing. It just wasn’t our style (still isn’t). When email and the Internet came out, he had an address, but it was more for sending fart jokes. Something about texting just clicks with him. I’ve gotten to connect with my father all over again. Virtually, we can spend an entire football game going back-and-forth about how such-and-such coach sucks or how such-and-such QB is the next John Elway. 
9. 24/7 cartoons. Sorry, another parent thing. When I grew up, I got cartoons one day a week - Saturday - and they lasted about 3 hours. Land of the Lost, Scooby Doo, Top Cat, Hong Kong Phooey and Bugs. That was it! That was the list. They’re the ultimate baby sitter when you need a break and SpongeBob is ageless. BTW, streaming kiddie movies via Netflix on your iPhone during dinners out: priceless.
10. Clichés, clichés, clichés. It goes without saying, but I’ll get in trouble if I don’t throw in the obvious: Wife who likes me most of the time, which is more than any other human being; kids who seem pretty normal, which is amazing considering the DNA; and my health, which is bound to give out soon thanks in no small part to something that should probably be on this list: Nachos.

Happy Thanksgiving!