Obsessions of daily living that preoccupy my 32-track mind
I.
I seem to be collecting rubber bands. It wasn’t a conscious decision – I don’t even have much use for rubber bands. But I keep seeing perfectly good ones on the sidewalk and picking them up and putting them in my pockets.
I don’t know where they come from. I suppose mail deliverers drop them. I’ve seen that they bundle letters and catalogs and flyers with them and then take them off before they deposit the junk into mailboxes.
Anyway, I put the rubber bands in a jar under the kitchen sink. And once in a while, I take one out and snap it around something. And I think, “I just saved 2 cents, and maybe a rubber tree will someday thank me.”
II.
This is sweater weather. My favorite sweater is a bulky, charcoal-colored wool V-neck that has a hole in it. I don’t know how the hole got there. It looks like a cigarette burn, but I don’t smoke.
The hole is in the chest area. It isn’t very big – about the size of a pea – but my shirt shows through, and if it’s a light-colored shirt, the hole is fairly obvious.
I think it makes the sweater look more lived in and idiosyncratic. It gives it character. Distressed clothing seems to be “in” these days – just look at the jeans on sale in clothing stores. They often look like they’ve been beaten with chains. No one wants to wear new clothes anymore, or at least not clothes that look new. That’s not the mood now.
I feel warmer wearing a sweater with a hole in it than I would in a more perfect garment.
III.
I always prefer a black coffee mug. I drink my coffee black, no sugar; and a dark mug makes it look richer. If I drink coffee from a light-colored mug, it looks weak to me – not like coffee – more like tea.
I spent last Christmas with a group of Brazilians – long story – and they do know coffee. According to them, American coffee is “brown water.” When I drink coffee from a pastel mug, and can actually see the bottom of the cup, I always think of that description. Then my good-morning-America brew just doesn’t taste right.
Worst of all is drinking coffee from a paper cup. They’re usually white. If the coffee is hot – and I do like it either very hot or, in the summer, ice cold – the cup is usually too toasty for my fingers. I have to set it down for a while. And then, if I’m at all absent minded, it gets “cold,” meaning room temperature. And drinking room-temperature coffee is like drinking swill.
No, the cup must be black, or at least a dark, ceramic mug or cup, which I have several.
Michael Gates is a frequent contributor. Comments on this piece can be sent to current@hudsonreporter.com.