Why An Old Man Likes Old Things

This modest-looking old knife with a white handle will probably not be working for me much longer. The blade and the handle shake when you use it. It is becoming obsolete. When the knife breaks, I will throw it out.

But I remember when I bought it, in a supply store in the north country. It came with a similarly configured fork and spoon. (I also still have the other two.) They were wrapped in a clear plastic sheathe, with a white section at the bottom -- much like the way they had been constructed.

I bought the utensils so I would have what I needed at one of kids' visit to "farm school."

I no longer have a kid young enough to attend farm school.

And to grow old is to recognize what it means when things break and you discard them. You say good-bye, and know that in the process, they are looking back at you and saying good-bye too. Nobody but you knows their story.

Most things, and most people, vanish without their story ever being told.

And that is a sad ending. But for this particular knife, its story has been told, here, so that is a happy ending. I'll try to remember to update this post when the knife finally dies, if it in fact does so before I do.

That may take a while, because I assign it only easy tasks these days, things I hope it can handle. I guess I'm not ready to let it go.

Spring Blooms

The flower in the top flower is smaller than it looks through the zoom lens. It is the lone flower in one of the boxes in front of my house.

All the other plants are from the backyard.

Friday Night Dinner

For my daughter tonight, I cooked lamb chops, brussel sprouts, fried zucchini, and boiled onions, all with spices. Protein and veggies, no carbs. She seemed to like the meal.

I couldn't help reflect on the fact that now she has been accepted to an elite arts private boarding school in Napa, she will probably be moving away this September.

And then there will be nobody for me to create these meals for. I also do not have any close friends who come here for dinner any longer.

So a bittersweet night for me.

Still lots of good times to come. My youngest son arrives a week from tonight for Spring Break. I think he will be staying here the whole time. He loves to eat, I love to cook.

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Happy Birthday and More

Thirty-five years ago today, a special baby girl arrived -- Sarah Daisy. Today she has three little boys of her own, and is attending lots of Little League and soccer games and practices. I had a nice phone conversation with her this morning.

This afternoon her little sister, my youngest daughter, texted me that her backpack and broken. If you know anything about schoolkids these days, you know they need a good backback. Off to Sports Basement we went after work and she chose out a new one, picturing an environmental theme.

Meanwhile, we had to figure out dinner (I haven't yet shopped this month) so she used an app on her iphone to track down some Mexican food for us to be delivered from Pancho Villa Taqueria. She handled the payment with my credit card and her app.

She smiled tonight at the sight of the T-shirt I ordered for her before Christmas, as it finally arrived today, roughly 78 days late. I explained that this probably was a result of the big backup at the Port of Long Beach during the recent labor dispute there.

"Then I won't complain on her website or give her a bad review because it wasn't her fault." The shoirt has an environmental theme as well.

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