Bring in the new

If you notice any glitches in my column this week (any more than usual, that is), it's because I'm between computers. The tech guys at Staples are still configuring my new desktop computer and transfering over the data from the old laptop, so I've been writing on the public computers at the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library and on my father's machine, which works fine after it boots up; unfortunately, that takes easily 20 minutes, which seems like an eternity.
And each keyboard really does have its own different feel. I keep hitting the CAPS LOCK button on this one, for instance.

Paperwork

I had a couple of days between editing projects this week and one of my tasks was cleaning out junk. I was appalled to find that I still had stacks of financial records and receipts dating back to 2001 -- no wonder I can never find enough desk space! So I spent a full afternoon shredding documents, and it was a fascinating look back into what seems like a different era, before Facebook and before stinkbugs.
I used to pay FOUR different phone bills: my landline, my cell phone (and back then it was not a smart phone), my long-distance carrier and a carrier specifically for calls to Delaware. The bills listed each call and its duration.
My credit-card bills from a dozen years ago showed that a tank of gas at Landhope cost less than $30. Most of the merchandise that I purchased was from brick-and-mortar stores, no Amazon or eBay charges.
And my bank statements listed only deposits, checks and ATM withdrawals, no automatic or online payments like we have today. And they used to send back your actual cancelled checks, not a digital image (banks charge for even that service now). I was surprised how many checks I used to write: now I pay most of my bills online.
I jammed the poor shredder several times (it's supposed to take only three sheets of paper at a time) but eventually filled up a large packing box and several tote bags. I'm happy to announce that I now have a lot more shelf space.

A perfect storm

Frequent readers know that I enjoy a tough workout at the gym, but even I was a little worried when, before class,our gym teacher announced that she was not having a good day: her phone died, she had a fight with her boyfriend, her hair wasn't behaving, and her podiatrist had advised her that she needed to replace her expensive running shoes at least every three months. Oh, and she was hungry and had forgotten her gym shorts, so she had to work out in sweats.
I exchanged wary glances with the guy behind me: "The perfect storm," he whispered to me with more than a little trepidation.
Fortunately for us, her mood lightened considerably during class. Exercise tends to do that!

Easter break

Is Good Friday morphing into a secular holiday?
I noticed that Kennett Borough offered free parking for shoppers on Good Friday. A hair salon promised to make their customers "look good on Good Friday." And on Friday morning, Perkins in Avondale was packed; in fact, the cashier told my breakfast pals and me that they brought on extra wait staff because they knew everyone would have the day off and would probably want to enjoy breakfast out.
When I was a kid, I seem to remember Good Friday as being a somber day, with lunchtime church services for the observant, but only especially religious companies gave their employees the day off.
Not complaining, just observing.

Impatient

A normally even-tempered friend who lives on Newark Road here in West Marlborough texted me the other evening, half-furious, half-frightened. Seems someone had been tailgating her on her road and then blew past her -- passing blindly while going up a hill. And a few days before, she said, there had been a four-car pileup near her driveway.
I'd bet everyone on Newark Road has similar stories, and I actually think it's getting worse. A few weeks back on Street Road, a guy was on my bumper from Newark Road all the way to Lamborntown Road, at which point he gunned his engine and zoomed past me. Seems he wasn't happy that I slowed down to let an opossum cross the road.
I was glad to see a State Trooper parked at London Grove Friends Meeting the other morning watching for people running the stop sign there -- which they do all the time.

Old barns

Fredda Pennock, a member of the Kennett Township Historical Commission, called me the other day to tell me about a lecture her group is sponsoring at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at the township building. Seth Hinshaw, historic preservation planner with Wise Preservation Planning of Chester Springs, will be speaking about old Kennett Township barns. The talk is free and open to the public, with no registration needed.

Deterrent effect

In the Y locker room today, I noticed that the woman next to me wasn't locking up her stuff, and I suggested that she might want to do so.
She explained that she comes to the gym straight from doing barn work, so all her possessions smell strongly of animals and manure.
"I mean, anybody who tried to steal my stuff -- they'd take it and then they'd put it right back!" she said, chuckling at the very idea.