Bob Thomas Writes

Some things are good for you. Reliable and practical and so sublime that to discard them would be a horrible mistake! Things like old blankets, warm sweaters, arthritic husbands, graying spouses and that pair of 25 year old Hush Puppy Tan Bucks with the 3/4 inch red rubber soles! ( I finally parted with mine after 30 years!)

In this age of new, improved, super-sized, products, we sometimes forget to hang on to things that have worked well for most of our lives. As people race around getting new boobs, new lips, new cars and new spouse’s, I yearn for the good old days when aluminum foil was ‘just too expensive’ to discard after only one use . . .and was washed, re-folded and used again! Or shoes were resoled, re-heeled and worn for years.

I can close my eyes and see my Dad polishing his two pair of Wing Tip Shoes on Saturday night. (Usually while watching “Marshal Dillon & Miss Kitty” on TV.) Each was unlaced, polished, re-laced and inspected for wear. Each pair was re-soled about every two years. When they weren’t being worn they were stretched on shoe trees in his closet. When they finally ‘wore out’, they became his ‘yard shoes’ and he cut grass in them! I don’t think I ever saw a pair get thrown away, they were relegated to the basement where they became ‘painting shoes’, ‘digging shoes’ or ‘work shoes’. He bought only the best brands and I believe he paid about .03¢ a mile for them!
He also used a clothes brush on his suit every night and placed it on a wooden hanger to hang. Every Monday he sent a weeks worth of white shirts, and two or three ties to the dry cleaners. (After his death, I wore some of his ties for years!) He always placed a clean white. . . ironed. . . handkerchief in his pocket everyday. He made his clothes last for years because he spent too many years with very few clothes when he was younger.

When they started making plastic trash can liners in the late 50’s my Mother stuck with her “paper grocery bag liners” for another few years. . . after all, she had me to wash out trash cans when they leaked! I think plastic was adopted after I left home in 1964! About 1965 they bought a window air conditioner for the den. On one of my visits home, my Dad almost had a stroke when he came home and found me trying to air condition the “whole damn house” with the window unit! They closed the doors and cooled only one room. . . and only at night. . . and only if it was really hot. . . and only while they were in the room! Central air came a few years later, but I still remember the whir of the attic fan and the breeze from the window on warm summer nights. It’s a nice memory.

My Mom recycled Christmas wrapping every year. If you got a ‘really pretty’ gift, you had to open it like a brain surgeon to avoid tearing the paper. Next year, someone else received it and had to be equally as careful! Of course, my Mom’s gifts weren’t just wrapped, they were decorated! She often spent an hour wrapping one gift with such elaborate decorations, you thought you had gotten the most valuable gift on the face of the earth! For some reason I remember things like socks and underwear were the most elaborately decorated!

I seemed to have strayed from my point. . . the point being, old stuff that works well shouldn’t be discarded. Sure, I know that new things have fancy knobs or flashing lights on them, but they don’t have any memories attached. And you can’t buy memories. And you can’t recover them when they’re gone.

So, while you have it, care for it, fix it, heal it, and love it. It’s a good idea for old toys, cars, children, marriages and aging spouses.
Remember, not everything can be replaced. . . sometimes there just isn’t anymore.