Thursday, March 31, 2005

The P-35

Should you have the need to staple 2 1/4" flats, nothing beats the P-35. All steel construction, chrome finish. There are days when I miss it's heft in my hand. I used to spend days on end stapling away in a cluttered warehouse, building flat after flat. Filling them with white cotten boxes. All so some madman who employed me could fill them with stones. On occasion, when I was left to my own devices, I would slip messages under the cotton. A penny, a fortune, a scrap of paper with a random word or date scribbled on it. All in the hopes that somewhere, some child would discover it and wonder from whence it came.
When I first lived on my own, I got a page a day calender of Zen quotes. I lived in an apartment building in Quincy. 62 units. Late at night, I would sneak around the halls, leaving a calender page and a polished stone on random doorsteps. I always wondered what the residents of Sunnylea thought when they discovered them. I hope they spent a day having magical thoughts.
Even now, years later, when I'm in some store that sells crystals, I look. Because it's quite possible my boxes are still circulating out there.
Now adays, I spend my working hours listening to people complaining. Fixing their problems. Trying to get bills to drop. Resolving errors. Not much room for leaving little messages. But I enjoy some good friendships. I get to talk about zombies. A fair trade? Perhaps. But I won't lie. When I'm spending my Friday morning stapling together case load reports, I think whistfully of my personal P-35. The one with the felt wrapped around the hand guide loop. It felt good in my hand, and it did it's job well.

2 comments:

Mike said...

Okay, first I have to say that anyone who doesn't know us might think you're being fanciful about the box stapling and rocks, but I was there, and it's all true.

More importantly, I'm amazed that you hid things under the cotton too! Must be something about counteracting the madness with little acts of joy.

Rev. Molius said...

but...but...but...i...i...i believe you have my stapler.