Treasured Time

Treasured Time

Noel Laflin

10-23-14

Cleaning out the garage can be very therapeutic, not to mention rewarding.

I did not intend on doing it – the cleanup that is - but the promise of finding and forwarding on a few old letters from a friend, written, sent and saved over forty-five years ago led to it – eventually.

Now, I have written the story about the finding of those letters already, so I won’t go into that much further.  What I want to touch on today – these three months later – are some of the other treasures, both big and small that have now seen the light of day once more.

So, here’s a partial listing: 

The letters in question, of course, both found and forwarded on.  Thus, a promise kept.  

Letters from a brother also in Viet Nam.  He too is interested in reading them once again.  They have been set aside just for that purpose.

Letters from my mom, sister, and long-lost friends have been found, re-read, laughed at and in some instances cried over, as I sat cross-legged on an old box or the coolness of the garage floor. Many hours were spent in just such a state of repose. 

Photos by the thousands were unearthed.  Some tossed – many kept.  Friends and family have seen the initial result of these discoveries on Facebook.  Don’t sweat it, however, as there is enough ammunition here for a life-time of future postings.

Some long-lost teddy bears have a place of honor in the house once more.

A once forgotten coin clock runs once again and is proudly displayed in the upstairs powder room.

My father’s grandmother’s clock is now at the clock repair shop.  My dad made the piece in adult woodshop nearly fifty years ago.  My brother-in-law is sending me some supplies to help restore damage to its faded mahogany base.  The clock itself stopped running some twenty years ago and then sat in my father’s garage until his death.  It’s been in my garage ever since.  No more, however!  Space has been allocated near the top of the stairs for its re-installation, come November.  The clock repair guy needs a month to do the job and test out its timekeeping accuracy.  As I’ve waited this long already, what’s another week or so?  Westminster chimes will never again sound so sweet.

A grandfather’s clock has also been partially restored.  Once I find both the space and the money for its internal repair (it’s not cheap, by the way) then it too will be moved indoors.  Its chimes are deep and melodious as well.  It was a great find at one of the antique stores in downtown Orange some twenty years ago.  I need to talk to my brother-in-law about stains needed to repair a darker wood color on the base of this giant as well.  Glad he is in the wood refinishing repair business.  Wish I had a relative who was in the clock repair business ...

A classic bolo tie was found and is ready to be worn – perhaps at the next wedding I am to officiate come December.

My mother’s silver plated tea set now graces one of the old antique sideboards in the dining room. 

A box of pristine white bath towels was unearthed, laundered and currently being put to good use.

Goodwill Industries gained the following: Three hundred books, a 32 inch TV, countless bags of clothes, twenty-five old board games (I never liked Up Words or Stratego that much anyway), appliances, computer parts, glassware, shoes, old Betty Boop toys, three heavy duty Christmas tree stands, and an Ab-Buster device (I find walking to be a much better alternative), etc.

The professional shredding company down the street disposed of five overflowing large file boxes; goodbye old checks, pay stubs, ancient work documents, etc.

The large recycle and trash bins, placed ever so faithfully at the curb each Wednesday for the past three months, can now stand down for a bit.

And lastly, twenty-seven stories were written during this three-month time frame; many inspired by the findings in my garage.  I think I need to do some more cleaning.  It seems to be good therapy for the mind as well.