Photo by Samet Kurtkus on Unsplash
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper gratefully accepting the assistance of granddaughter Sarah in once again attempting to deal with the debris of a lifetime as an ink-stained wretch in the newspaper business.
“Clippings” they are called. Thousands of them in drawers, files and boxes taking up space with the vague notion in the keeper’s head that he might someday use them for reference in some nameless project.
One of the major adjustments necessary when moving from a house to an “Independet living” place like Vista West is getting rid of “stuff” as accumulated over a lifetime. It has been a never-ending heavy lift for the keeper, cheered on by Phyllis who has a firm grasp on the benefits of throwing things out.
It’s coming up on six years since the keeper and Phyllis made that big adjustment and still there are the boxes under the desk and the file drawers overflowing with clippings that go back as far as the Ed Gein days.
The reality, of course is that when they are all finally thrown out the keeper will be going with them and he isn’t quite ready yet.
