Today, courtesy of a failed zipper, I had to complete a yoga-inspired escape from my winter coat. (Yes, I have a winter coat, and for the record, it got down into the 60s.) My wife had to assist me after I got stuck, and while I envisioned it like a Houdini-esque trick filled with tension and awe, my children said it was closer to a scene from Dumb and Dumber.
So much trouble caused by one little thing. A zipper.
The YKK (Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha) Group, founded by Tadao Yoshida in 1934, makes roughly fifty percent of the world's zippers. Seriously, check out those pants or jacket you are wearing, and chances are fifty percent of you have a YKK stamped on the zipper.
Yoshida didn't invent the zipper — the ubiquitous device predated YKK by nearly one hundred years. The originator of the zipper was Talon Zipper, who first manufactured the device in 1893. Yoshida copied Talon's design and began making his zippers in Tokyo shortly after that.
Over the following decades, YKK grew from being an imitator to an innovator, creating some of the most in-demand and innovative zippers, including the world's first nylon zipper, polyester zipper, concealed zipper, and the world's smallest zipper. YKK zippers were even used in spacesuits belonging to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and the rest of the Apollo astronauts.
For clothing manufacturers and enthusiasts, the zipper is an essential and integral part of a garment. It is an indicator of quality and attention to detail. As fashion designer Trina Turk said,
"When the customer is buying $200 pants, they better have a good zipper."
Zippers are important. They help us combine different elements and hold things together. They make things easier to get in and out of, and on occasion, make things more artistic and attractive. They are the very definition of form and function. More than anyone in the world, Yoshida understands the need for a dependable and high-quality zipper.
We all need zippers in our life. Not just on our garments, but in our lives. People who seamlessly and effortlessly help us integrate the different parts of our lives. Someone who helps us keep intact and together. Someone who serves to remind us that life is as much about form as it is function, even in pandemic times.
For many people in your life, you are that person. You are a spouse to someone you love, or maybe a parent to a child that needs you. You are a son or daughter to an aging parent or a friend and neighbor to someone in need. And yes, for many of your students, you are the one who holds them together. You connect the pieces of their lives and reminds them that school and life are about art as much as academics.
You are their zipper. You perform an essential service out of the line of sight and do it with compassion and dependability.
But if he were here, I believe Yoshida Kabushikigaisha would remind us that even the best of zippers get stuck and need a little help getting un-stuck.
If you are feeling stuck, if you are in a jam, know that it is perfectly normal and happens to the best of us. And if you can't break free and need help getting unstuck, I am here. I know what you are going through, and I would love to help you just like someone was there to help me.
-Scott