Creating a new folder

[Brian Olesky]

Sorry to reduce the question level to kindergarten, but I've had a vexing
problem for a while now.

Often when I want to create a new folder in the finder, say deep in a nest
of other folders, the "new folder" item in the menubar under finder is
grayed out.

I usually don't worry about it, and somehow I come back to it and it works,
but this morning I set out to find the cure. I went to the (usually very
helpful) "help" menu, it sent me to "get info" under the file menu, then to
"permissions" which I changed (didn't work), which I then unlocked (still
didn't work) so now I'm turning to the big "help menu in the sky" (you all.)

I'm the only user of the machine (besides my wife who occasionally uses it)
so permissions are not usually an issue.

In your answer, please at least pretend that this is a complicated problem
so I don't feel like the village idiot.

Thanks,
TVI