A Stitch in Time

 

After the previous pair of angst essays it's nice to write about something cheerful for a change. There are several films called "a Stitch in Time". The phrase refer to the old mnemonic: "a stitch in time saves nine", meaning clothes mending is easier if you catch the damage early. The film I'm talking about is the 1963 Rank Organization's slapstick comedy A Stitch in Time starring Norman Wisdom. I say "starred", but in reality Norman created a genre of his own. The story follows Norman being his usual self-styled character in the form of a young butcher's apprentice. He ends up at a hospital where he meets a young girl who has been struck mute since her parents suddenly died. Being his characteristic empathic clown, Norman makes a huge effort to keep visiting her in order to care for her and heal her, resulting in the usual hilarious chaos. What is interesting is that at one point he decides to take on the job of a porter and the porters at that hospital have a very unusual transfer method. The patients are not moved on wheeled vehicles by hand; they are put on stretchers and are driven on small electric cars which the porters drive. Source: https://youtu.be/bUBBvU_ReMU?si=K4td55XODgvjkT2L&t=980. I've never heard of such a thing, especially as long ago as 1963, when the film was made. There are machines known as "bed pushers", for example: https://www.felgains.com/care-products/felgains-gz10sl-slimline-hospital-bed-and-stretcher-mover/; but they were never a thing until the 2000's and they only provided motive force to assist the porter, who was walking as usual. They were not a vehicle by definition. I remember them being abandoned by management because of their expense and inefficiency. I suspect the vehicles in the film were imaginary and invented by the production designers; because they are used for great comedic effect when Norman races one of the porters along a corridor. Of course HP's are being listed for replacement by AI's, and one of my trolls gloated over this fact, but what profession isn't in this day and age? However, as I explain in this article: https://hpanwo-hpwa.blogspot.com/2020/08/roboporter.html, contrary to popular belief, I think HP's will be one of the most difficult professions to robotize, not the easiest.