I have just gone through a period of losing things. At least I hope I have gone through it and will not lose any more essential and valuable objects. Some years ago odd socks would appear and no matter where I looked the partner for it never turned up. After hanging around in my sock drawer for a while I would throw the sock away.
The next day the other one would turn up.
There was a neat solution. I only bought black socks. Problem solved. While black socks were fine with my work suit, they are less suitable with the more casual dress I have adopted in retirement.
I packed for my holiday and took my camera up to the suitcase. On arrival in Spain it was not there. Surely I had not lost it, it could not have been stolen. Maybe I left it behind. When I got back we hunted high and low for it so I had to conclude that it was lost.
With a trip to Sri Lanka coming up, I decided to buy another one. Amazon promised that it would arrive today. Just before it was delivered my wife pulled the bed out to vacuum underneath and the old camera fell to the floor. Now we have 2 cameras; one each.
The lawn needed attention so I raked up the dead moss. Needed to read the instructions about the scarifying machine but I did not have my specs on. They were on when I left the house. I rummaged through the big pile of dead moss, poked around the undergrowth and flower beds, and checked the garage. Sifted through the pile of moss again the next morning only to learn that my wife had already checked it once so they definitely were not there.
Next day I was resigned to getting a new pair. Probably I would get them made up in Sri Lanka, it would be cheaper. Our daughter-in-law came to see us and entered the house with a pair of spectacles. “These were hanging on a branch in the Rhododendron bush.” She announced. I gave her an extra big hug.
If I was superstitious I suppose St Anthony of Padua could have been asked to intercede and find the lost objects. Though how an 800 year dead Portuguese Franciscan priest could help is beyond reason. It is said that his body turned to dust but that his tongue continued fresh because he spoke such good sermons.
When I was an older teenager and still living at home I had several off socks in my drawer. After a few weeks I gave up hope of ever finding their partners and threw them out. A few days later I found the missing pairs – in my dad’s sock drawer!
Now I solve the problem of odd socks by not worrying about matching pairs. I have socks similar to the ones illustrated; so long as the style is the same, I don’t worry too much whether the individual socks match. Solves all sorts of problems – like “why are you wearing socks that say ‘Monday’ when it is Tuesday?”; not being able to find the other half of the pair; if one sock wears out I can still wear the other.
I am also forever losing my spectacles. My peculiar eyes mean that I need spectacles for long distance but not for short distance. I have to think back to where I was when I was last reading something to work out where I might have put them.
I remember I made a comment of your Technicolor Dreamsocks last time as it was an unusual sight. However, what’s worse? Mix-matched socks or tucking the trousers in the socks?
Last time I was gently told off by my local optician’s assistant for not having a useful spare pair of glasses – as my spare pair was not accurate anymore when I needed to use them in an emergency. It took about a week for my new pair to arrive. In many developing countries in the world, you could get a new pair in a day, but in this First World country, the glasses need to be sent away for a week.
Given these intimate confessions I am just LOST for words!