Hoeing out memories

Mark decided we should finally hoe out the knee-wall closets, where we stuff boxes of things we don't want to deal with.

Late this afternoon I sat here, after my Thomas-And-Olivia-Transfer-At-The-Diner trip, with a glass of wine, watching him go through a box. What a trip! There was an eclectic mix of neat stuff, and tons of junk. You know all those electronic wires and connectors you saved from your TV, scanner, stereo,etc. because you "might need them?" Well, after 17 years, it's probably safe to assume you can throw them out. We did.



This is a pay stub from Mark's job with Grounds back in 1989, a few months after we met. He was making $6.27 an hour.



Old Darling Family photos. Instead of being kept in a box, these will get framed to grace our guest room, where we hide everything we don't want the cats to destroy.



Mark's says "And here's your medal from the Empire State Games." And I said "No way!"



The summer of 1989 I worked as a police dispatcher and the coach of the crew team that I rowed for in college called me. They wanted to put an eight in the Empire State Games but only had seven rowers an a coxswain. Would I be interested in rowing? With a bunch of varsity college rowers who had been training regularly while I had been sitting on my butt for three years? Sure, I was a glutton for punishment.

Problem was, I was also dispatching the State Police Command Center from 11:00 pm - 7:00 am during The Games (no, I was not a NYSP dispatcher, I worked for Ithaca College but the mobile command center was on our campus so I had the opportunity to work it). So I worked all night, stumbled over to the Health Center where they gave me a bed, slept for a few hours, went to practice or to race, then went home, before heading to work.

We won the first heat and came in for the silver in the finals. It probably ranks right up there in my top ten most fun memories.

A Coyote Loco postcard. A fun restaurant and happy hour location that is long gone. Sniff.



Okay, this next one REALLY sums up our lifestyle, and I hope it makes both our mother's laugh. Mark and I are both really bad about thank you notes and cards. So one year we decided to get "grown up" and buy cards to "keep on hand" so we would "be prepared" and could send our loved ones cards at appropriate times. We promptly put them in a box where they remained for 18 years. Even the store, Logos on The Commons, is gone.



As Mark shuffled through the cards I noted two that were a suspicious shade of Valentine's Day pink. Guess what I'm getting for Valentine's Day?

And then there is the hickory nut Mark picked up....somewhen. For some reason. He doesn't remember. But some critter found it to their liking, and had it for dinner sometime over the past decade or so.



And that's just box number one!