Paper Clips

I haven’t posted a pet peeve yet, so I guess it’s time. We all have those little, insignificant annoyances that drive us to the edge of good reason. We try to ignore them, but sometimes they just get the best of us. You know what I mean. You have them, too.

Take paper clips. Today at the office I needed to replenish the stock in my desk drawer. I went to the supply cabinet where all good paper clips dwell. Hmmm….where are they? Aha! There they are! All nestled snug and safe in that butter tub that someone so tenderly washed and donated. I grabbed a handful and escorted them to my desk.

I laid them on my desktop to make sure they weren’t daisy-chained. I hate that. You reach for a clip while holding a handful of papers and pick up a whole string of them. You have no choice but to stop and try to separate the offending objects.

I began to sort them. All I wanted was a handful of cooperative paper clips. That’s all. The problem was that these had been hanging around a while. A loooooong while. Many were so sprung from years of abuse they would no longer hold any papers. That’s no good. I tossed them. (DON’T tell my boss!)

Next to go were the oxidized clips. You know, the kind that should carry a warning stating, “Use only if your tetanus shots are up to date.” All the finish was worn off, and they almost looked rusty. By the time I tossed the unusable clips, I had just a few left.

My 3-year-old grandson was coloring with his older sister the other day. They were sitting on their knees at the coffee table sharing crayons. All of a sudden, my grandson got up, ran in the kitchen, and threw away his crayon. His sister was mad because the crayons belonged to her. Their father intervened, and asked, “Why did you throw away that crayon?” The answer? “It doesn’t work!” Doesn’t work??? Dad fished the crayon out of the trash can. It was the white one.

Now I’m for recycling and reusing things up to a point. There comes a time, however, when the aggravation factor just isn’t worth it. I agree with my grandson’s logic. If it doesn’t work any longer, GET RID OF IT!!