The cigar box
The other day I came across a dusty, ratty, old cigar box, in a pile of junk, and fixtures, and fittings, outside a home that is being gutted for renovation and sale. It rattled when I picked it up.
A long time ago (I have been told) people used to use cigar boxes as catch-all storage.. handy places to keep paperclips, and such.
The sounds told me it obviously was still full of nick-knacks, trinkets, and things. So I opened it. What kind of *stuff* would I find inside?
What kind of person had owned this cigar box?
I found some thick-framed and thick-lensed, black, dork-glasses. Minus one arm. Some keys that opened who knows what. Some rubberbands and paperclips and safety pins. Some beads and buttons and baubles. In a word – crud. But. I also found…
A funny sort of thing I believe is a pen… that you write with?…
I think so, because also in there was this…
The ink is still good, it appears, so I am going to test out my theory…
I knew what this was…
.. but I can’t remember seeing anyone using one recently, nor do I recall catching a whiff of that delightful aroma. Not in twenty five years or so. Seeing this reminded me of a wonderful man I once knew.. who took the time to explain things to a curious, question-filled boy… A long time ago.
I was – then – not surprised to find this…
nor this…
Now all I need is a flint! But I doubt you can still find those.. these days..
Thanks to another gentleman, a long long time ago, (who also who took the time to explain things to a curious, question-filled boy) I found this and…
and! I felt 12 again. Wonder if I remember how to tie a swivel on..?
Naturally, I saved the best for last, folks. Also inside that shoebox was something I was quite happy to see… My “prize”.
(It needed a little cleaning, but..)
Sharp as blazes.
I looked at the house, being stripped and gutted, and tried to picture the owner in my mind. The man who had kept this shoebox, and used to live inside. I looked at the yard’s azalea’s and rose bushes, and well-kept fence…
I cannot tell you why, but I think I would have enjoyed talking with him.
Even if he once did wear black thick-frame dork glasses…
Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. 
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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