A thought from the internet—sometimes they really do hit it out of the park.
“One thing no one ever talks about when it comes to being an older adult is how we keep a cardboard box. Because, you know, it’s a really good box.”
When I met Bruce, we were both well into adulthood but a long way from older. Still, one of his rules was to keep a cardboard box. Not that I hadn’t kept one before. People at the grocery store in Valentine knew me as a ranch wife and, for those customers, they’d ask if you wanted a bag or a box. Always a box; most of the time the groceries were going into the back of a pickup.
In those days, stores kept the shipping boxes just for that purpose. Now I guess they all get broken down and recycled. Which is likely a good thing, because we have plenty of boxes. Back in the old days, I did keep a few boxes if I knew someone was moving, or we might need to carry something somewhere. The key word here is few, because storage space was limited. But Bruce’s house had a basement and it was full of boxes. When we moved to his ranch, we used some of them but most were beyond being able to hold anything of note. Here the boxes go in the garage, but I have a rule about that. If we keep one, we have to get rid of one. Even so, they occasionally get ahead of us. I wonder if they multiply on their own, like coat hangers. Either that or one of us is cheating. Not to mention any names…
Mark Twain said that nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eyewitness. He was right. Bruce and I tend to remember details very differently. He will say that such and such event happened when we were on a trip to Canada. I know very well it was in Wyoming. I can tell you the weather on that day and who was there; sometimes even what they were wearing. When I interrupt with the real version, the whole story dissolves into a controversy that doesn’t even begin to interest the poor person who is listening to this mixed-up tale. Truly, they probably didn’t care in the first place because it was one of those, “I guess you had to have been there,” deals. Not sure either one of us was there. It probably happened somewhere else.
Other internet advice I received recently: “The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless. I’m not a quick study, but I’m learning.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.