The Source Of Today's Clutter
"Things I Never Learned." The M. Hohner chromatic harmonica, expensive in its day, represents my only brush with music as an adult. But all I ever learned to do was toot out disparate notes of "Buffalo Gal" and "Lilly Marlene" as I bounced our little Jenny on my knees. But how she loved it!
"Things Started But Never Finished." An embroidered patch from Blankenship's Taekwondo resurrects memories of my long-abandoned aspirations to earn a black belt. If my first broken foot slowed progress considerably, the second stopped it cold. I learn slowly and painfully.
"Pocket Kinds Of Things." Around age 15 I found a combination 4-in-1 pocket screwdriver and bottle opener and carried it throughout my teenage years. The P38 folding can opener and a pair of ignition pliers likewise traveled with m--until their sharp edges wore holes in my pockets.
"Things That Could Still Be Useful--Maybe." These are keys. Tiny keys for jewelry boxes and small suitcases. The key to the American Tourister suitcase my aunt, Juanita Foote, gave me as a graduation present in 1963. Keys to the footlockers I used in college. The key to the Sampsonite suitcase Mary received from her father in 1962.
"Things Abandoned By Time." A key to Old Bluie, our 1983 Toyota Tercel station wagon donated to the National Kidney Foundation in 2002. A key to Van Go, our 1995 minivan sold in 2003. A key to Old Whitey, our 1976 Toyota Corolla station wagon given to a friend in 1998. And a key to Red Dragon, our 1964 Impala Super Sport traded in 1969. I'd love to still own Red Dragon.
"Things With Lost Identities." More keys to houses, apartments, desks and storage cabinets. Even a handmade key. But what did they fit?
"Things From Early Career." These hearken from the early 1970s. A semi-operational HP-45 calculator. A set of custom-fitted silicone rubber ear plugs from OSHA's initial forays into industrial plants. My professional engineer stamp and seal--for the unlikely event that I might actually agaom need to certify an engineering drawing.
"Outdoor Adventure Things." A Princeton Tec headlamp from our spelunking days. Simple and inexpensive, it still works. Miniature bungee cords given to me by Lonnie Teague for backpacking. I'll move them to a more accessible location.
"Miscellaneous Things." A gospel tract published by our friend and former pastor Don Moseley 30 years ago. A carpenter's pencil that's never been sharpened. A small sack of buttons and a collar stay, the kind sometimes packaged with new dress shirts. The missing case for a polarizing filter I've been hoping to find.
It's a peculiar trick of time that turns yesterday's treasure into today's clutter.
Copyright 2004 James McAlister
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