I'm sitting under the stairs looking up at the pictures on the shelf mounted on the wall over my desk and wonder how many other people are sitting under a staircase right now by choice. We all know that Harry Potter was relegated to the room under the staircase while he was living with his muggle family. But he wasn't happy there. I am very happy under my staircase.
Some of my favorite things are under this staircase. First of all and most importantly, my computer, printer/scanner, all sorts of office supplies (including a 500 count box of business size envelopes, printer paper in multiple sizes, weights and colors, pens, pencils, notepads, a miniature stapler, many colors and strengths of reading glasses and a tattered copy of Excel 2003 for Dummies as well as a less tattered 2012 Writers Market) maybe I mentioned it before, but I am an office supply freak. Going to Staples is for me like going to a botox clinic must be for the Kardashian's. It feels like Christmas morning every time I walk in that place!
But the really important things under my staircase are on the shelves. There are two 6 inch deep glass shelves under here, just above my head. The top one contains, a telephone company Pioneers coffee mug celebrating the Texas sesquicentennial (1836-1986) that is full of pens and pencils. I got it at a phone company function that I attended with my parents while I was in college. It reminds me of Dad when I look at it.
Next to the coffee mug is a photo of my mom, Aunt Jean, Aunt Lou and Aunt Gerri that I took at Lake Tahoe. They were all standing on the side of an overlook above the lake. The photo was taken in Sept of 1993. My mom was furious with me when the picture was taken because a man had offered to take the picture so that I could also be in it and I refused. You know, sometimes you just don't want to be in the picture. That was the first time my mom and I had decided to just take a trip without Dad. Since then we have gone to Orlando, on a few Caribbean cruise, and to New York. Sometimes it has just been the two of us. Other times, like with Lake Tahoe, other people come along. But it is always fun, (unless someone wants to get me in the picture too).
In front of that picture is a red Butterfly Duncan Yo-Yo. I love that yo-yo. I have had it for at least 25 years. I used to keep it at my desk when I was a merchandiser in the Nacogdoches jcp store. When I would go to watch a broadcast and do my buys, I would stand in the broadcast room and yo-yo while I looked at the merchandise until something struck my fancy and I would stop to write down my buy quantity and then go right back to yo-yo-ing. I bought a lot of merchandise with that yo-yo in hand. Next to the yo-yo is an Andy Moog autographed hockey puck. I just like Andy Moog.
Sort of behind the puck is a small basket that is overflowing with match books collected from various restaurants all over the U.S. Back when I traveled on business a lot, I would always bring a matchbook back for my collection because back then, smoking was allowed in restaurants and so complimentary matchbooks sat near the hostess stand near where the mints are now. You don't see that too much anymore. But on the occasion that I do, I always pick up a matchbook.
Next to the matches is a double photo frame that holds wallet sized pictures and in it are photos of my brothers from 30 or 35 years ago. Behind that is a framed picture of similar size of Audrey Burch as a baby. My friend Katherine, gave me that picture in the frame when Audrey was a baby and it has had a prominent location in my house since. Who doesn't need to look up from what they are doing occasionally and see a picture of a pretty baby looking back at them?
Next to Audrey's picture are my last pair of prescription glasses before I had my lasik surgery and a crystal pendulum clock that I got as a gift from my brother and sister-in-law a number of years ago. The glasses are the last ones I thought I would ever need. Boy was I wrong. I must have 15 pairs of readers stashed in various locations throughout my home and car. I usually put them on top of my head when I am not reading anything then go upstairs with them and take them off. So usually once a day, I have to go upstairs and get 3 or 4 pairs of readers to bring back down. I hate having crappy eyes!
My second glass shelf is mostly just photos most of which are unframed. A lot of them were taken as I was leaving a cruise ship usually with whoever I was traveling with, there are photos with me and Mom; me and Jenny; me, Mom and Rebecca; and even me, Mom, Eileen and Jan just before getting on the Circle Line in NYC. There is a framed photo of Jingle which sits next to a ceramic "S" that was meant to be hung on the wall and I never got around to hanging so it has been sitting above my desk for years on the shelf. Now it just belongs there. Next to that is a small wooden box that you are supposed to keep jewelry or something in. It has a picture frame in top of it and I keep it standing up so that the picture frame faces out. It contains a picture of Jingle as a kitten with all of his toys sitting around him. Inside the box are valuable earbuds that have come with various electronic devices, a small microphone that came with my laptop, a rock that I must have picked up somewhere and a few lapel pins from the former employer.
Behind that box is the most important collection I have. It is the collection of sea pass cards from all of my cruises. Anytime I have a need to remember when I was on a certain cruise or which ship I was on during a given photo, I can look back through the sea pass cards and get the information. Along with it are some hotel room card keys that I have collected over the years and my passport. I know that the passport should be kept in a safer location. But sitting on my shelf, I can always find it quickly.
The final objects on that shelf are a volunteer badge from the State Fair a number of years ago, when we did the sheep to shawl there. There is a framed photo of the Golden Gate Bridge that I took the first time I went to San Francisco and finally two commemorative golden rulers from (you guessed it) the former employer.
All of these objects over the years have been an important part of my life at some point and for some reason. Now they serve as reminders of a lot of fun times. I like being able to gaze up at my little shelves while I am thinking. When I put my desk under the stairs several years ago, before I got my Dad to hang the shelves, I never would have imagined that I would come to spend so much time under here and be so happy here. But unlike the room under the stairs in the Harry Potter books, my space under the stairs is pretty awesome.
I have to get ready to go to Nacogdoches now. I won't be writing for the next several days since I'll be entering the "black hole" of cyberspace. So have a good week and I will talk to you when I get back!
No comments:
Post a Comment