Purging and packing in 2005

We’ve been working at removing more clutter—professional papers, memorabilia from travel, old art supplies, frames, books I had given Phil over the years,  extra Christmas things rarely used, as well as destroying some musty, dusty boxes.  And back in 2005, we did even more.  I think these things just grow the more you toss out!

From December 2005 blog:

I think there is over $10,000 of drapes in the pile--however, used drapes have no value especially if they've been created for specific windows. And there are size 37 sport coats and suits, an almost new pair of black loafers that hurt my feet, bright fuchsia Capri pants size 8 with an even wilder top (what was I thinking?), winter sweaters, Hawaiian shirts, a 20 cup coffee maker, about 50 8-track tapes, pictures in frames, a double bedspread with matching pillow shams, twin bed skirts, two director's chairs, b & w TV, microwave, books, toys, a number of cookie tins nesting, notebooks and paper and pencils, portable typewriter, a tall chair for a drawing table, and other stuff I've already forgotten. Three 40 gallon trash bags of shredded documents went out with the trash pick-up this morning.

Throwing out the 4th draft of a 25 year old never published paper

 I think I'm in my 5th day of packing and pitching--my professional files (if you think I write a lot now, it's nothing like the 1990s), valentines from 3rd grade, letters to my parents, fiction and poetry I wrote in the 1990s. I can only do about 2 hours a day. Sad and disturbing. It's unbelievable what I've forgotten, but when I re-read those files, I don't want to throw away what I didn't know was stored in musty boxes. I have no recollection of applying for an exchange program to attend a Negro college in the south in 1958, but I told my parents about in a letter home from Manchester College.  And the next month there was a letter to them filled with my plans to attend the University of Illinois to study Russian.   And then. In a folder I found a photocopy of a poem written by Billy Collins (Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003) and published in Harper's Magazine, October, 1994. It's called simply, "Forgetfulness." I checked the internet and found a YouTube of his own performance. The audience was laughing.  I wasn't--it's a very sad poem.  

 https://youtu.be/aj25B8JYumQ   https://poets.org/poem/forgetfulness

Albert Sabin letter in my file

I'm sure I've done this several times in the last 20 years (since I retired)--condensing and throwing away files, especially those related to work. Now I'm into personal things. Considering the news about the vaccines, it was interesting to find a copy of a letter I wrote in 1983 to Dr. Albert Sabin who developed the oral polio vaccine which was much easier for school children. (I had the Salk vaccine given at school).

"I will always be grateful that as a parent I didn't have to go through the worry my parents' generation suffered. In 1949, my cousin Jimmy died of polio and 3 weeks later my sister became ill with polio. Although she lived, now in middle age she is suffering many after affects of deterioration.

Thank you for your contribution to the health of the world."

I had seen a newspaper column by Bob Greene who reported that Dr. Sabin was paralyzed in a lot of pain and unable to walk and was confined to a hospital bed at the National Institutes of Health. Green thought letters from the public could cheer the 77 year old.

Maybe it worked, because he lived another decade. I read a NYT obituary for him today and was surprised to see many parallels to other viral diseases, and how he continued to work on this problem. He also worked on Sandfly fever, dengue fever, toxoplasmosis and encephalitis. He and Dr. Salk (credited for the polio vaccine injection with booster shots) had a rivalry.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0826.html

He denounced the Federal policy of vaccinating all adults against the Swine flu virus in 1976, which bore a strong chemical resemblance to the virus of 1918-1919. He spoke the truth as he saw it without diplomatic considerations and thus many government doors were closed to him even though he was a hero.

More files for the trash

I'm throwing out files from 40-50 years ago. I was a Democrat then. I wrote to anyone who would listen/respond from Robert Lazarus to the chaplain at the Ohio Penitentiary, from the Principal of my kids' school to the public library director, from the Columbus Dispatch editor to our church's education director--about prison conditions, bank practices that hurt the poor, story hours that included racist or weak female story lines, the number of black clerks that Lazarus hired for Upper Arlington Kingsdale, fair housing practices and the morally squishy material from ELCA. I remember attending meetings to discuss the need for a local food warehouse that was going the "end" hunger, and a planning group for a community center for Upper Arlington. I was carrying posters at the state house about the ERA. I was beyond woke, but I was asking specific people and companies to change their policies. I wasn't asking the government to do it. I guess I should have organized some protests and thrown bricks through windows instead of writing letters. 

What if Joe Biden had worked as hard on these issues as I did? Maybe he might have made a difference in his 40-something years in "service."

More boxes to go through

This afternoon I'm going through all our trip memorabilia--most of it in two large storage boxes in the furnace room. Alaska, Arizona (twice), Arkansas, Baltimore, Bartlesville, Boston, California (3 times) Canada (Vancouver), Chicago, Finland (many cities), Florida, Germany (many cities, river cruise), Greece, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (Columbus, Madison), Ireland, Israel, Italy (numerous cities), Kentucky, Michigan (Detroit, Boyne City, Bay View), Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Springfield--these were mostly architectural tours), Oregon, Philadelphia, Russia (St. Petersburg), San Antonio, Spain (Madrid, Murcia, Granada, Cordoba), Turkey, Washington DC (3 times). Post cards, maps, guides, newspapers, magazines, hundreds of receipts for restaurants, hotels, museums, art galleries, tours and airlines. Stacks of photos we couldn't use in the albums.

It all needs to go. But as I looked through the things, I couldn't help but think of the thousands of jobs related to tourism and travel, from the maps and brochures to the hotel staffs, the bus drivers, the cooks, waiters, cleaners, and tour guides. All out of work now.

  

Granada 2015

 

Alaska 2001

Purging again--old photos

 It was not my intention to look through old photos.  Old framed photos.  Old, dusty and moldy framed photos with glass that had to be washed.  I was collecting Christmas dishes to go to the resale shop and opened a box.  There they were.  

After I got the Christmas boxes moved we (Bob had to help me move things) also found two big storage boxes of memorabilia from trips; but that will be another blog.

In the middle of the night it came to me.  I'd remove all the portraits from the frames and donate the frames.  After a very long nap today that left me too groggy to tackle this job, I first found an album that had no photos in it, and the open slip was at the top of the pages so it would take large photos.  So I took it to the basement and began removing the photos from the frames, wiping and washing as I went. Things were going well until I came across a church directory photo of my parents, about 5 x 7 and somewhat faded, and a very unattractive hair style for my mom. When I turned it over to remove the backing I discovered it had been glued.  I had to get several tools to separate the backing from the wood frame, which had glued brown paper under it.  When I finally got that separated from the wood, I discovered that the photo had been nailed in!  Yes, 10 thin nails about 1/2 inch then pressed against the photo. In a thousand years, this 45 year old photo wasn't going anywhere. Obviously, this had been done by the directory company.  Without breaking the glass, there was no way to remove the photo. So, I've scanned it and will have to throw away the photo.  The frame is raised, so I couldn't close the lid of the scanner making the image fuzzy.  It's painful to throw away photos, and I still have boxes to go.  I've labeled it 1973, however, until I find the church directory, I won't know for sure.