When 9/11 happened, I was in a sailboat in the Mediterranean with seven friends, one captain, and one crew person|chef. We didn’t have a cell connection or wifi. Our news viewing was restricted to the end of the day, on whatever TV we could find in whatever bar, before we went to a restaurant somewhere for dinner.
Think back. Imagine if the only news about what happened on September 11th was restricted each day for a week and a half to what you could see in 10 minutes.
In hindsight, this limited viewing of the tragedies was one of the great gifts of the trip. When I got back into the office, it felt as if I had entered a land of zombies. I told my boss I was psychically disconnected from everyone else. In hindsight, that was a good thing.
I need to do better at moderating my news intake now. I’m glad I don’t have a TV, and glad I’m not blasted with the political ads that inundated me in the rubber-smelling waiting room of the car repair shop, when I got my new tires right before the midterm elections. But I need to spend less time in the New York Times, less time watching clips from late night monologues, less time listening to current events podcasts.
I’m going to set a timer for 10 minutes. No, 15 minutes. That’s more realistic. Plus, it’s one of the automatic settings on my timer:
I need to be more aware of now, of here, of this place where I am, and of the gifts that grace my life. There are so many.
Things I Weirdly Love
There are some things in my life I love. People, yes, but I’m not talking about people now. These are things. Little things, inexpensive things, but every time I use them, they make me happy.
I’ve wanted to let you know about them for a while but couldn’t figure out how. Now and here seems like as good a time and place as any.
Why OXO is a wonderful company
OXO doesn’t make kitchen tools. They make customers’ lives easier/better/faster through the kitchen tools they make.
I loathe the sink strainer. You too?
Instead of digging your fingers into yucky gunk, with the OXO strainer you just pull it inside out.
Most icky bits fall right out. If any stick, just wipe them away with a paper towel or something more sustainable.
BTW: None of these links are affiliate links. Getting paid to make a recommendation is a slippery slope I choose to avoid. The National Museum of African American Music gets a teeeeeeny donation through Amazon’s Smile program, but that’s it.
Now that you have your fingernails out of the sink strainer
I think I paid twenty-five bucks for my Tweezerman tweezers. They’re great. But these SZQHT nail clippers are just as good at their job, and they cost half that.
For your feet
Beauty products can come from the cleaning aisle of a grocery store:
Directions: Put a Chore Boy Golden Fleece on the edge of your tub. Take a hot bath. Soap up the Chore Boy, then scrub your feet. That little marigold scratchy square has just the right amount of rough to feel wonderful.
What about you?
Any surprising little products you love? Reply to this email and I’ll share them here.
Chewing the Cud of Good
Thankful for hope.