Thalidomide is Apparently Good for at Least One Thing

The first time this particular freelancer showed up to work, I had fiduciary concerns. She only had three fingers on each hand. Would she only be three fifths as productive as a five-fingered freelancer? Should I negotiate a discount in her rate? This was in 1994. I had like $7 in my new business checking account and I frankly liked to eat every now and then.

But wait. The freelancer's middle finger was the longest middle finger I had ever seen in my life. Maybe it was multi-functional outside the obvious heavy traffic road rage scenario. I decided to hold off for the time being. Keep tabs on the situation.

Turns out yeah. For once I was right. She was no casualty of the computer revolution. She could swing control-shift-F12 with one hand. When her rate increased later on that year, I didn't say one word when I wrote out the check. I would have paid her more. Maybe I did.