Adios, Amigo. You've Been Replaced by Google

In the 1970's long before Google was a household word, I had a file cabinet!  In it was stashed away every possible article, and idea that I might possibly use well into the next millennium. Some articles were utilized a time or two but likely 90% were simply used as an exercise in logical organization for my benefit only.

 A few folders contained sentimental memories, letters, very elementary visual aids used in lessons and a few photographs and postcards.

But the biggest stash were Readers Digest articles which were evidently my main reading material!  In fact the family I grew up in were great fans of Readers Digest articles and humor and we in turn subscribed for years.  Steve hauled out 6 full boxes this size. Condensed Readers Digest books were given away long ago. 

During the past 45 years, the cabinet and contents have been moved at least three times, survived a fire, collected dust, and somehow managed to stay organized. This weekend, however, I had to say "Goodby!"  In a Herculean effort to declutter my life and home, I purged its contents.  Sadly my metal friend, you've been replaced by Google, and multiple other search engines.

   Though my desk belies it, I've always liked knowing where things are and have a need to find them quickly, hence the filing system.  I used a prepackaged organizing plan specifically designed for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It was the backbone for filing thousands of  interesting articles (both secular and religious)  in numbered and labeled folders, which filled four large drawers.  There were easily at least 2500 topic headings available and it was easy to use, and find things, once filed.

    Just as kids say the darndest things,  I had filed the darndest things:  tests and notes from my World Religions class from 1961 with probably the only good grade I got therein.  You never know when you might need a refresher on Zoroastrianism, Shinto, or Buddhism!


I had multiple research papers from high school, visual aids from presentations that took hours to prepare, A floppy disc for installing on programs on an Ace Franklin computer and even a Magnavox Warranty from a phonograph (no less!)  bought from ZCMI in 1967.  Hey, one never knows when proof might be needed!

I next found a wheel chart we used when raising our children, showing rotating responsibilities.  Kept just in case they moved back home, I guess!  We appreciated how much work they did tokeep the house and yard clean when we were raising them, but when they all left, we realized even more how much they did, and that it wasn't just them making the messes!

In my dusty sooty investigation through the folders, there were a few treasures uncovered:  a letter to President Nixon from my politically pro-active father; a letter and two postcards from my youngest brother, now deceased sent while serving his mission in Germany; a cassette tape from my mother's funeral, and several scripts from a variety of non-descript roadshows, and programs that I probably had fun writing long ago.





One of the more humorous articles was a push for teachers to use 16 mm projectors in the classroom! I remember doing that and having Jr. High AV students bring the projector in and teaching me how to use it.  Actually, when it comes to technology, I've had LOTS of students give me great tutorials, and provide trouble shooting help.  Therein lies the validation (or not) of the whole filing effort.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that technology would tiptoe into my life so unassumingly, and then decade by decade increase with such giant strides that I was daily using all kinds of current applications and search engines.

Was the work of analyzing, and organizing the items worth the time?  Maybe not.  So was it then simply an exercise in futility?  Not really, for when I was desperate for some quick instruction, or a spur of the moment lesson I was asked to give, those files were a great help.

BUT, the bigger question is, "Were there more important things I could have been doing, instead of filing articles?"  From outward appearances,  organizing thousands of articles and filling four drawers full of items,  would get a thumbs down, but as I took time to read some of the things I had filed, I could see that unitedly there had been a common thread of influence affecting my attitude in life, focusing my efforts, and sometimes even motivated me to try a new skill. From health advice, both mental and physical, game ideas for Cub Scouts, crafts and decorating, and philosophical and personal growth instruction, the articles were extremely beneficial.  Reading brings knowledge, and when knowledge is put to use, will bring develop attitude adjustments and skills of all sorts. So in retrospect, I salute the contents of this trusty/rusty  old file cabinet.

Beginning in 2007, Our corner has been pretty successful in providing used items to passersby in Blanding. We've had some pretty strange things on our corner, not just from us, but from others in the neighborhood, and by and large everything gets recycled. But I'm not sure in anyone really uses a file cabinet any more. We'll see?  (But the 49 year old crib is now gone!)  Hooray!! and thanks for the memories!!

Provident Nightmares--EeeK Moments

     Eeek! It was one of those Nighmare on Elm Street moments. I remember the first time I felt this way. It was when one of Blanding’s icons passed away, and the family photo collection was divided up, and then put in a garage. Shortly thereafter these irreplaceable photos were severely water damaged. My heart twisted in agony!

     Again I cringed when a dear elderly grandmother in our neighborhood died, and I learned that boxes of her historic photos were thrown out in the trash. Before such historic treasures are trashed, families should consider donating the collection to the San Juan Historical Society.  They can at least archive the collection keeping it intact, safe and secure. Such a decision conserves history for posterity & community.  

 

hese are pages from my grandmother's album

which I scanned about 2004.  Then I used 

Photoshop and dissected then into individual

photos, filing them by categories. My Dad is in 

eachof these photos.  I really treasure them.

     If you don't want to do that, then start organizing and digitizing your photos now. You don't have to store all of your slides, photos, mementos.  Take photos of them, or scan then, then identify them by year, and organize them all on your computer, so you can find them when you write your history some day.  Or teach your teen ager how to do it.

     This week’s Eeek! Moment came when I learned a neighbor’s well-meaning (but not provident) family had carted off all her canning jars to the dump. I couldn’t help but think of all the people who could have benefited from their use. This year promises to be a “summer of plenty” and canning is a way to conserve its abundance. The last jars I got were from Jacquie Moses’ curbside last summer!   Many of my favorite “trash to treasure finds” I discovered in someone else’s garbage. I know it’s embarrassing to my walking partners, and probably my children as well, but if something can be used, whether a high chair, an ironing board, lawn decoration, or canning bottles, I have no qualms about asking if I can have it. Your trash may likewise, be another’s treasure. Think outside the box (‘er . . .trash can) and share.

      For the past 4 years as I’ve tried to simplify and declutter my life, I have found it a simple matter to set out on our corner things we don’t need, in hopes that someone else may find a use for them. I am always happy when they’re gone by the next day, and hope they find a “new purpose under heaven.” My heroine in this behavioral change has been the aforementioned Jacquie, a woman who practices real conservation. She has a wealth of provident pointers, if you’re ready to change.

     Enough on recycling…let’s get our hands dirty. It’s time to start gardening in Blanding. May 15 is typically the last killing frost, so unless you’re a gambler and already have your seeds in, it’s time to prepare your soil and plant.

     Nothing advertisers can promise can match home-grown fresh tomatoes, corn, beans, & peaches. They are superior in flavor, nutrition and therapy. Ada Rigby is Blanding’s guru gardener. She told me many years ago that her father recommended working in dirt for mental, emotion, and physical therapy. She followed his advice and learned “bushels” full of information the past 60 years, while she and Truman produced some of the best and most varied gardens in town.

There is something wonderful about working with plants and having quiet time to ponder and plan while pulling weeds. My first missionary companion was a metaphor queen, a true transcendentalist. She found lessons of life in nature, whether in a cracked sidewalk, or a faded bloom. While pulling mallow I, too learned that weeds not plucked young, grown deeply and may require a crowbar to eradicate. Like addictions and sin, old roots die hard.

    Gardening helps to counteract Mammon’s Malaise which William Wordsworth described 200 years ago:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

I memorized this in college, but have spent the past 40 years trying to practice it-- a lesson that is easily practiced while gardening.

Earth Day 2010 and Beyond

When President Obama challenged us to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day April 22 by making our lives more energy efficient, I’m sure many decided that meant a longer nap for the day—what better way to conserve energy!

Yet, there are better ways. We live in a state and community known to be conservative, yet despite this perception, a rampant waste of resources abounds. I’m not talking about government, businesses, or our schools. …but in our kitchens, and homes. According to the EPA, the average American produces about 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, or a total of 29 pounds per week and 1,600 pounds a year. We have become a “throwaway society.” It has become acceptable to throw things away that have hardly been used, worn, read, watched, or even eaten. If we don’t throw them away, we hoard them and build or rent more storage sheds to house them. We are Henry David Thoreau’s worst nightmare. He claimed, “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone,” not by what he owns. I doubt that Thoreau ever had a storage shed, much less a garbage can.

     We have become a nation of over-purchasers of over–packaged and over-processed products and foods. We cannot possibly use all the things we buy, nor do we “need” them; so instead we “liberally” waste food, clothing, media, electronics, toys, water, and time. Unless you are blessed to be living with a very attentive and conscientious keeper of the home, your refrigerator, cupboards, and closets are probably stuffed with products you probably won’t eat or wear, nor remember having. Your children probably have so many things, they can’t keep their rooms clean. Yet each item required energy to grow or create, and you likewise exerted energy to earn the cash to buy it. By trashing it you waste energy on many levels. (Contemplate: “Willful waste brings woeful want.” Thomas Fuller)

     My Aunt Orpha was a wise steward in regards to energy. One summer I stayed with her for a month in N. Hollywood, and before preparing each meal she would ask her two children and myself, how many carrots we would eat for lunch, or potato slices, etc. and that is exactly what she would fix. No more, no less. There was little waste, nor garbage in that household. She believed, as did T. L. Peacock, that “The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity.”

     We often buy things that serve no needful purpose, and then complain that we have no money, our home is cluttered, and we can’t find anything. These “tinkling bells” deplete our finances and time, infringe on our counter space, rot in our refrigerators, and spoil our children. As a result we throw more away weekly, than most citizens of the world may see in a year. Wouldn’t it be a wiser use of resources to cut back on personal wants within our family, and help those who are truly needy?

     In this initial column on Provident Ponderings, I’m suggesting that we start “conserving energy”, by buying only what we actually “need” and will use – not what we “want” and that we teach our children to do likewise. Next, we make a new “conservative” habit, not to “throw” everything in the trash and consciously consider if there may be others who could use what we are about to toss away. For example,this past winter used clothing collected in Blanding went to Ganado Middle School as well as to Guatemala instead of being trashed. Many people faithfully transport used items to DI in Price, or second- hand outlets in Cortez. A good use for our extra abundance.

     Can we be wasteful and still be considered a “faithful and wise steward?” Mother Earth with her bounties and beauty deserves better respect. How can we expect to be blessed when we misuse the things we have stewardship over? Our homes and property should reflect wise use of resources, as well as care and attention. This is how we give thanks and become “energy efficient.”