Months ago, I pulled apart all my old check carbons in anticipation of shredding them. They'd been sitting in a crumply brown Woodman's bag since then, gathering dust and dog hair, but with nothing pressing on the docket, today was their day to go.
I don't know if you've ever shredded old documents, but if you have, you probably know that it's a fairly dull, mindless activity, punctuated by moments of mild interest. Which is exactly how it all unfolded for me today. I'd grab a handful of carbons and deposit slips, and feed small stacks of them into the grinding blades. I'd pause every so often and read the faded blue words.
Woodmans.
Target.
Kohls. Ah...that was before they all became Copps.
Hong Kong Cafe.
East Crossing. And then, New Crossing. Oh yes. That was a bumpy year, or three.
UW Parking and Transportation. 'Nuff said.
Cuppa Jo. Another loss, in my little world. I wonder what Jo and Anne are up to these days.
Apparently, in lieu of a journal, I've recorded my life in checkbook carbons.
Then I found this one
9/10/01 - Brio's...I got my hair cut
Ordinary stuff. Going about life, like everyone else.
I wonder if there will ever be a time when I don't think about 2001 as two different eras...the leading-up-to, and the afterwards.
And speaking of afterwards...I wrote a check to Shopko on 9/12/01 for $61.03. As I remember those days, I didn't feel normal or ordinary or anything that would have led me to do some casual shopping, so we must have had a compelling need for ...what? I have no idea.
1 comment:
Thank you for this post. I, too, have found my life recorded for posterity in checkbook carbons. In fact, I've kept several that seem significant to me--ones related to weddings or college tuition and so on. September 11. I remember going shopping that day as well. I wanted so much for life to be normal. Well, here I am again. And life is...normal. And also very, very good.
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