Cleaning Up

-
I'm starting to move around a little better...which is good, of course, but it has led me to different places in the house where clutter has been allowed to build.

An O.C.D. dude with a new year dawning does not get along with clutter.

It started in my room and the book shelves. They are becoming overfilled and there are a lot of people out there who are of the mindset of tossing them into the trash...I could never do that.

"You won't read them again," my beautiful wife explained.

"But they need to stay," I said. "They are memories."

So I organized them a bit. Then there are my hundreds and hundreds of CD's. All the music is now on my I-pod or phone, but I can't just discard those CD's, right? They are sorted nicely.

I don't know about you, but I'm not good with buying music this way. It's so impersonal. Yet at least I am still buying my music. Way too many people simply steal it.

Tell me how that is possible. An artist creates something and people sell it right out from under them. It happened to me a few times with the books. How is that not theft?

Anywhoha...

Back to the clutter.

Raise your hand if you have a drawer that's just busting with junk. We all have a junk drawer, right?

Well...

...we have a half dozen of them apparently. Plastic containers without covers, mind you, stuffed all over the place. You open the wrong cabinet, on the wrong day, and you might be buried in the avalanche.

I sat down on the kitchen floor and pulled everything out of one such cabinet. I wasn't about to bend and try it, but slowly and surely I organized it a little and matched a few of the lids with the bowls. Both dogs sat beside me, wondering; "What the hell is he doing now?"

I thought about going to the big room of junk that we have in the basement area, but that's just too much and the O.C.D. would most likely result in a seizure.

We have Barney tapes down there.

My wife is "getting to them".

I am under strict order not to throw them out.

I suppose that we will be looking at them as senior citizens.

Can't figure out why else we might need them.

But I ain't in charge, right?

Being off injured has taught me a couple of things anyway...

...mainly to relax a little and stop chasing life down. It goes on with or without me anyway.

Not everything has to be done this very minute.

Not every nook needs to be cleaned up constantly.

Does anyone need a Barney tape?

We got 'em all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Suits

-
Like a lot of other people we got pulled into the series, ‘Suits’ on Netflix. I’ve never had much fun hanging around lawyers who have questioned me as a construction safety officer. I once testified in a case where the opposing lawyer started questioning me by going through my educational background. “So,” he said, racing to a crescendo, “You graduated from college with a degree in Communications-Journalism and suddenly, 30 years later, you’re a ‘safety expert.’” He actually made the quotation marks with his fingers. I just looked at him. “How does that happen?” He bellowed, sure that he was going to discredit me. “Well,” I said. “I knew I was overqualified to become a lawyer.” The courtroom erupted in laughter. Even the judge chuckled. The rest of his questions landed flat. So, I wasn’t all that keen on a show about lawyers, but ‘Suits’ is great. Meghan Markle became a princess because of the show, and she is very good in it (and a beautiful woman). Yet, there is so much more. The wri
Read more

My Buddy, Dave

-
Way back in 1997, I started working with a steel erection company out of Syracuse. I was coming straight from a long stint with a steel erector here in Buffalo so I knew my stuff when it came to steel erection safety rules. On day one, I met with the safety director and he was just getting started as a safety guy, but man, he certainly cared about the guys he worked with. Dave was a good man from the start. He’d say things like: “You’re so full of beans.” Just a down to earth, hardworking guy who became a fast friend. We drove all around New York State setting up jobs. I always let Dave drive so that I could rest. One fine day, way up North of Syracuse, we passed a state trooper.  I glanced at the speedometer. “You’re screwed,” I said, and seconds later, the lights came on. Dave was beside himself.  The cop stopped by the window, grabbed the license and registration and headed back to his vehicle. “Here’s the thing,” I said. “You’re pissed, but you’re such a good guy that I bet you tha
Read more

Mom & Ollie

-
Image
 Ollie Stadium is a mess. The heavy rains rendered the backyard a mud pit and even though we threw in the side yard, the Big O was looking for more, and we were both covered in mud. I had to take some steam out of him somehow so I suggested we go visit Grandma. Ollie hates the car, but he laid quietly as we made the trip. We even brought the football because there is plenty of room to play at Grandma’s. Mom opened the door and started laughing. I thought about the love she had for every single dog we ever had. Oliver was quick to give my Mom a kiss, and then he stood beside her. The love between Mom and Dogs is a mutual bond. Through the years, Mom would make breakfast for the dogs.  Fried eggs, toast, bacon… She would wrap Christmas gifts for them. “To Jeter, Love Santa,” she would write on the cards. They played with the big chicken that made a lot of noise. Mom tossed the football and Ollie brought it back to her. As the visit drew to a close I headed for the door.  “C’mon, Oliver,”
Read more