Comedian George Carlin did have incisive wit. I essentially no longer watch comedy sketches as they all seem to be either mean-spirited or so vulgar as to be disgusting. Don’t get me wrong – I curse profusely  – in fact I can’t think of a day that goes by that I don’t do so. Nor do I mind the use of profanity in a witty fashion. When one can’t manage more than two lines of dialog though or have a focus on sex and bodily functions, I do not find that to be clever.

Anyway, notwithstanding Carlin’s famous, “words you can’t say on TV”, (for those of a certain age), one of his funniest segments was about getting “stuff”. The idea is that most of us don’t have much “stuff” when we go out as adults. Sure, we may have left things with our parents, but we generally don’t initially move into a place that will hold much stuff. As we obtain stuff, we suddenly think/realize we need a bigger place. Ah, we have more room. Well then let’s buy more stuff. Setting aside the multiple sizes of clothes many of us have as we age, it is not always us simply getting more stuff. Items from other generations may begin to come our way, too. Although moving on average every two years in the Army had definite issues, there was the tendency to clear things out in conjunction with a move. In the same way, when we had to clear out the front room and kitchen during the remodel of our current home, I did give away a number of boxes of household items and few pieces of furniture. While I have held the line somewhat, I once again look around and know there are probably things that can go.

On a related note, and a topic I have posted about before, is the matter of books. None of us can bear the thought of throwing away a book, but finding a place to give them to is very difficult. This is one of the major reasons we have two Kindles. This allows us to get lots of new books with no shelf space required. What to do about the seven crammed bookcases we own is another matter entirely.