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Day 111 – Possum Jaw (Give)
Ahhh, memories! I remember the spring afternoon I hopped up the steps and into the trailer I shared with my best seminary buddy, Tim. Something didn’t smell right.I gathered up a mound of dirty laundry and stuffed it in the washing machine, confident the problem was solved.It wasn’t.The smell got worse – especially in the evening when the furnace kicked on. Tim and I scratched our heads. What was that smell??The next afternoon when I got home from class, the smell was stronger. Where had I smelled that stench before?? Then I remembered the time a guy in my college…
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Day 110 – Modern Art (Throw)
This bit of modern art was brought home from school today by Ida (age 7). I mistook it for trash. Call me heartless, but I wanted to throw it before it became a fixture in the boys’ bedroom. Ida protested, “It took me a long time to paint those toothpicks!” I had not noticed they WERE painted. But they are.We came to a deal. Ida would allow me to throw his ‘art’ away if I agreed to take a picture of it first. It’s another win/win situation because now it’s physically gone from our house, but a much wider audience…
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Day 109 – Another Space Heater (Throw)
It’s been about 85 days since I threw away a space heater. Our last working heater just gave up the ghost and there’s no reason to think I’ll be able to fix it. Plus, spring fever drives me to take pleasure in tossing it…We got another call on the house today – but the guy was wanting to know if we would consider renting it out. Since we’re leaving the country, I don’t think that would be the greatest idea.And we still don’t know what to think of the time-share deal, except I’m beginning to think the price $16,000 price…
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Day 108 – Comic Strips (Throw) and Update on Time-share
At the bottom of my box of letters, I discovered a stack (at least 50 or 60) of comic strips I had cut out of Sunday newspapers over the years. Most of them are not nearly as amusing to 42-year-old-Steve as they were to teenage-Steve. In fact, I can’t figure out why I would have gone to the effort of cutting and saving most of them.But, about 20 or so were Calvin and Hobbes strips and I passed those to Dats (age 9) before tossing them in the recycling. He giggled all the way through them. It’s such a joy…
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Day 107 – Time-Share (Sell)
The man leaned forward, elbows on his desk, and asked Melissa and me, “Do you know why so many American marriages end in divorce?” He had already implied the answer to his own question, but he wanted to hear it back from us.Melissa didn’t bite. She responded quietly, “Well, I suppose mainly because God is not at the center of a lot of marriages.”It was not the answer he was looking for, but his eyes lit up as he recognized a new angle.[For the record, the “correct” answer was supposed to be “because couples don’t start their marriages by taking…
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Day 106 – Gag Sign (Give – as a Birthday Gift)
I picked up this sign at a yard sale back when I was at Asbury Seminary. For a while I was sharing a trailer home – a real “Kentucky Home” – with my friend Tim. I thought this sign would look good in our trailer. And it did.Since it is now a family heirloom, I passed it to my neice in class yesterday (she is in my Sophomore English class). She turns 16 this weekend.I put a little bow on it and attached a Pixy Stick with some tape. All she said was, “I don’t get it…”Oh, but you did…
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Day 105 – Magnetic Dry Erase Board (Sell)
This thing can go in the garage sale tub. I bought it to put in my classroom – I wanted something to stick magnets to. That was before I realized that all my chalkboards are magnetic.So it went in a filing cabinet drawer for a couple of years and now I’m hoping I can get a dollar or two out of it on some upcoming Saturday morning.
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Day 104 – Stack of Letters (Throw) and Some Quotes on “Stuff”
Nothing too exciting here. I’ve held onto a box of old letters for years now. I should show them to my kids – they would probably look as foreign to them as the records I pulled out a few weeks back. “Look, kids, this is what people used to do before email, texting and Facebook … it’s called a letter. Paper and pen and a stamp.”I found letters from individuals dear to me and individuals I had completely forgotten (literally … still can’t place them). There were letters from Grandma Gross, Mom, former campers, fellow camp counselors, high school friends,…
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Day 103 – Clock Radio (Sell)
This is one of many time pieces I have bought for Melissa over the years.I’ve struck out every time I’ve spent the money.Various clocks and watches … they’ve all been rejected! Usually in short order.I think this clock was either too bright or too big or too complicated to program. Or all three. Maybe it was the wrong color too…
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Day 102 – Comedy Writing Secrets (Sell)
I bought this book years ago – I think while I was still active with “FishForce”, but I’m not sure.I found it in a closet and first thought it would be a great give to couple of students I’ve had in class. They are really into filming videos and they come up with some really funny stuff. (To see a video they made for my class last fall, click here – you’ll get a kick out of it.)I figured they’d really get some good use out of the book. But then I started to flip through the pages and I…
