Second day in the hotel with only my suitcase, my purse and the contents of my car. The car is a bit of a sore point, because I share it with my daughter, who isn't exactly neat. Again, I thought I had pretty well cleaned out the car in preparation for this trip, and again, I was surprised by the stuff hiding there. A few things stood out.
Pens and Mechanical Pencils; Miscellaneous Clothing Including a Brand New T-Shirt
I took a safari from Nairobi to Lake Turkana twenty years ago, twelve foreigners jostling around in the back of a flatbed truck on roads that we wouldn't call roads in the United States. We drove north through dusty little towns where smiling barefoot kids dressed in raggedy t-shirts and shorts would run along beside the slow-moving truck with their hands out. One of the tourists had brought packs of Bic pens and would pass out pens to these kids as we rode along. He had read that kids in these towns needed pens for school.
Residents would occasionally jump into the truck and ride for a while, using the safari truck as a form of public transportation. At one point, a young slender woman got on with a baby who was naked except for a gray rag wrapped around his bottom. We'd stop in a new town every hour or so, and at each stop, she'd get out, unwrap the cloth from the baby's bottom, and rinse it out at a hand-pump or puddle. Whatever water she could find. Then she'd put the rag back on the baby. Wet.
So in my car, I found about two dozen pens and mechanical pencils, wedged under the seats or in the glove compartment or in the side pockets. I'll bring them into the house, and we might use them someday. Ditto the brand new t-shirt, leather jacket, scarf and single sock.
Swim Goggles, Flashlights and Water Bottles
These are important only because I bought a new pair of swim goggles on Friday and a water bottle yesterday, and two flashlights on our camping trip last December. I thought we needed them. It turns out we had a pair of swim goggles in the side pocket, a flashlight and a headlamp in the glove compartment, and two water bottles under the seats already.
We've got so much stuff, the stuff creates a fog. You can't see the stuff through the fog, and so you have to buy more stuff because there's stuff you need, and you can't see whether you have it or not, so you've got to buy more. And the fog gets thicker.
What I Got Rid Of
I got rid of a glass vase, which came free with a florist's bouquet and which we used to keep the senior flowers fresh last week. Also got rid of a lot of trash, broken stuff (like a leaky water bottle and a plastic hairbrush), some maps (who needs maps any more now that we have portable brains?), and receipts for car repairs.
Also I got rid of the book I Will Teach You to Be Rich, which is actually a text book from Emma's personal finance class. As I understand it, it's basically about saving money, which you can do if you're not always buying stuff.
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