A Question of Fashion

Trends come and go, don't they? What's shiny and new becomes dated and useless. We built an entertainment room in 1994. Now the cabinet for the TV (sized for an old school 36 inch set) dates the whole arrangement. Inside the cabinet is equipment for playing CDs and DVDs (but no Blu-Ray or that other thing). Also: a turntable, a cassette deck, a Laser Disk player. The DVD player also accepts VHS tapes. (No Beta either. That would be rich.) I remember when cassettes and video tape and Laser Disks were shiny new technology. Heck, I remember the first time I got a color TV.

I am tossing cassette tapes left and right. Yes, I could play them in the big room. Yes, I have a portable cassette player (Walkman??) somewhere. And, yes, I can still play them in my car. So right now I've parked a bunch of books on tape and language tapes in my car. Because I'm going to listen "one last time" and then give them away. Or so I say.

Clothes go in and out of fashion. I tend to latch on when a trend comes that suits me and wear the clothes right through until the next time someone thinks to recycle it. Tailored suits for business wear. Tuxedo-look for black tie. For all the dictates of fashion, people and their clothes are very closely tied emotionally.

I think fashion and appliances is a hoot, too. Everyone wants stainless now, sure. But will white be in again one day? Or will everyone go to custom-faced Sub Zeros? Or will we have a retro look with what looks like a big compressor atop an old school frig really being a personal beer keg?

I had a really weird day yesterday. Rather than continuing the sorting and such we shoved things back into closets and drawers and cabinets so some friends could see how big the rooms were. It made me realize that we still have miles to go to get through all the stuff. We have gotten rid of so much. How can we have so far to go? I also continue to be amazed at all the spots around the house where old screws, nuts, bolts, pens and pencils, buttons, coins, keys, scissors, letter openers, clips, and small metal or plastic pieces of unknown origin lurk. And I'm starting to ask questions like "how many denim shirts do I really need?"

The weirdness of the day multiplied after our friends visited. I decided I could get a quick workout before a meeting. I pushed the opener for the garage door on my side and a cable severed and the spring flew to the other side of the garage. Fortunately there was nothing there...FFP's car was outside. After FFP and I assessed the damage and he called our garage door guy, I headed to the club. But on 45th Street a line of cars was stopped for some reason and the guy behind me didn't stop in time. No serious damage to me or the car, but the time it took for me to get his info just in case made me turn around and go home. I've been deterred by one thing and another from my regular exercise (except for tennis which I don't count) lately. That will be rectified tomorrow, though. Barring unforeseen circumstances. As they say.

Today's entry is disjoint and weird, too. That's the great thing about blogging, though. Especially when you discipline yourself to do it every day. Every single entry doesn't need to be a gem. Does it?