Time....Whose Side is it On?

One of the best things about retirement is not having to maintain a daily schedule generated by the clock. Although I find myself in a bit of a household routine, it's wonderful to 'kind of' wake up when Flint tells me goodbye then drift along with the neighborhood rooster crowing then to sleep or not to sleep....that is the question.

I did go on base recently for a haircut. Flint dropped me off at the Food Court where I ate breakfast with the Food Court breakfast crew, puttered around here and there before going to the Beauty Shop. The girl who works at the Pick Up Point spoke as she exited and I entered. A couple of beauticians were seated, talking. They looked at me and said, "Cut?"

I said, "Si."

They looked at the book. "No appointment?"

"No."

Pietro said, "Come on."

Noticing they weren't as friendly as usual, I said, "Y'all aren't very busy today, are you?"

He replied, "We aren't open yet."

Mortified, I asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

He said (smiling), "We'll just charge extra!"

I told him, "You may go home early today!"

The Collection to End All Collections

As I sift through all my lifes' treasures, one of the strangest collections-and the one that made my Flintster roll his cute, little eyes at me-is my European toilet paper collection.

Collected over two summer trips to Europe with some pieces donated,

I was fascinated by the various colors and textures.

The 'government property' came from the Tower of

London. The labeled paper with one waxy side and

the other with a slight paper feel could be found at

any national site restroom. Was it labeled to prevent theft? Why would anyone want it?

Stories from Storage

I moved overseas for one year. Twenty-one years later, I'm still here. Golden Transport recently delivered 'stuff' I stored when I sold my house.

Some 'treasures' include:

• a rabbit from my first Easter without ears and tail. There is a family picture somewhere of me as the centerpiece on the dining room table with this rabbit and Easter baskets surrounding me.




• my baby blanket, brush, shoes



• my Barbie doll received in fourth grade. (Her pearl necklace fell apart when I touched it, but the handkerchief is still in her blue purse.) My friends and I were saving Blue Horse coupons to redeem for one. However, Mother surprised me one day when I came home from school , and she had made the weekly trip to El Dorado. This was the only doll I ever received at a time other than Christmas.





• my bride doll and my last baby doll; 'stuffed' items-nearly all homemade usually with embroidery details. My oldest sister always brought me something from college at the end of each semester. The autograph dog was one of her gifts. Many of my facebook friends signed it.



• calendars, journals, diaries, letters, postcards-I don't think I have ever thrown away a postcard mailed or given to me.



• a doll suitcase, a suitcase my Uncle Buck and Nell gave me that I used to take to friends' houses for bunking parties until 8th grade when I received my first piece of Samsonite-the Silhouette makeup bag in red. That's with me again, too!




• my Kodak Instamatic camera. Daddy and Mother surprised me with it when I was in college. Probably my 19th birthday. That started my love of photography.




• books! and more books! the Scholastic book club orders that I treasured, read and reread; Daddy's The Pocket University. Volume 1 Part 1 begins with Thackeray. They seemed to be falling apart years ago as we searched for poems and stories. They still are falling apart, but they don't appear to have aged. Like some people...they have always been old. Published in 1925.

Among all the 'stuff' yesterday, I had to stop and read D.H. Lawrence's short story "Things" as I ran across his book of short stories. Great story, and it helps me get rid of things much more easily. Almost as good as feng shui, Julie Morgenstern and the other clutter experts.