I'm sure a lot of people would say I spend to much of my time living in the past. As I've gotten older, it doesn't make much of a difference what people think or say about me anymore. You see, I've found I enjoy reminiscing about times and people and time spent with people and in my later years I've set the goal to enjoy things and be happy. Now, I don't mean to brag, but I've been pretty successful at being happy the last few years. I've also found that many times as I reminisce, I find a lesson to learn that may have escaped my mind at an earlier time, but I have also found we are never to old to learn. At times, I've probable even reminisced about times I've spent with many of you, and I'm thankful for those times because it is those time, that have made me who I am.
Most times it doesn't take a lot to get my mind going. Sometimes, something will just appear and make me think of things in my past. You know, things we thought were so great and things we wondered how we ever got along with out, and now we don't have them or use them or they have been improved so much that we never think about the old models anymore. You know the things I'm talking about. Things like fax machines and the old beepers that just beeped and you had to find a pay phone to call the office to see who wanted you. How long has it been since you used a pay phone, or how long since you have even seen one? And do you remember the first cell phones that weighed 6 pounds and cost a thousand dollars and 50 cents a minute to use. Or do you remember when gas cost 26 cents a gallon and 50 cents worth would get you to school and back home all week. Of course I remember that sometimes it was hard to come up with that 50 cents. I remember cutting the neighbors grass with a reel type lawn mower for a quarter and with that quarter I could go to the movies on Saturday and buy a coke and a box of popcorn.
I could go on and on with other thing I remember as I'm sure you could, but it was something much more simple than a movie or cell phone that got my mind to going Saturday morning. No it wasn't the cost gasoline or even my first used bicycle. I got up early as I do most mornings, took my shower, and as I was getting dressed, for some reason I looked in my top dresser drawer. Now as most men do, I have a top dresser drawer that I hardly ever look in. It's full of things I seldom use. Things like gloves for cold weather, a knee brace, rings and watches I never wear and old pocket knives I never carry. But yesterday as I opened that drawer the first thing I saw just jumped out at me. It was a "white handkerchief".......That's right....just a simple "white cotton handkerchief." I picked it up, sat down on the bed and stared at this simple one foot square piece of white cloth. I've never had a habit of carrying a handkerchief. I have no idea where the handkerchief came from but I couldn't take my eyes off of it for a few minutes. I wonder how many men carry a handkerchief in their pockets now days? I don't mean for decoration, but to use. I would bet very few.
As I stared at this handkerchief, it took me back to a time in my life when I was invincible. Oh sure, I could get hurt. I could fall and skin my knee or I could even get hit in the nose with a baseball and get a bloody nose. I could stick my finger with a fish hook. I could eat a fudge cycle and have it melt all over my face and hands and sometime I would even shed a tear and need my eyes wiped and need to blow my nose. The one constant was my dad was always there with his handkerchief to clean me up and make me feel better. I knew I was protected..... I knew I was safe.... When dad got dressed it was as natural for him to put his handkerchief in his pocket as it was for him to put his socks on. No matter what was wiped away with that handkerchief, seems it never had any bad germs on it, because I never got any infections from it. It would be very easy to say that my Dad's handkerchief had supernatural powers, but I don't think that's what it was. I think maybe he had the super powers.
As I closed my dresser drawer I stood up, folded the handkerchief and put it into my back pocket. You see, my four year old grandson Hunter was coming over for the day and with a little boy, you never know when you might need a simple white cotton handkerchief.....................
This is a beautiful post!! Thank you so much for sharing it!
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