The Gopher

Years ago, during a long season of duress, my cousin-in-law, gave us a Gopher.

No, not a real one, thank God. One of those handy helping tools sold on the T.V., the Gopher is like an arm extension, so that with a squeeze of a trigger you can grab almost anything. She gave everyone a Gopher that year. She's a physical therapist and doesn't believe in over extending. We laughed and teased her for a whole year about this obviously unusual gift.

This was about five years ago and since then we haven't the heart to throw it away. Recently, bending hasn't been a pleasurable experience so I dusted off the old Gopher and tried it out. Before this, the Gopher was only used to dispose of dead mice that lost their battles during the winter season. So I disinfected it and ever since it has been a life saver. I grab everything with that thing: toys, clothes, stuffed animals, crayons, dog bowls, you name it.

So the moral of the story is: We live in a throw away culture. So often we chuck anything that isn't of the most use at that very moment with little forethought. Think carefully. Some strange gift that you get one day could be helpful later on, especially if it is given out of love and concern. A little wacky, no doubt, but my cousin-in-law was thinking of our best interest. So think carefully this new year, as you consider the clutter and spring cleaning around the corner. There may be use for something yet.