Managing Full Pockets

While the rest of us manage our jobs, our responsibilities in and around the house, family and friends Pop manages his pockets. This form of management consumes a significant portion of each day. Inside each shirt pocket is a litany of necessities including a couple of pens, maybe a pencil, his giant clip on sun glasses, and sometimes a cookie or two. Jeans pockets contain the manly stuff. Wallet, finger nail clippers (absolute essential), a house key that never gets used, a comb that gets used all the time, perhaps a penny or a nickel.

It is not unusual to observe him fingering those important supplies safely nested away in his pockets. One by one he'll pull them out, testing the pens to see if they are still operational, filing his finger nails into sharp points and opening his wallet to check all of the meaningless cards that we have put there to take the place of credit cards. Or, looking like a money tycoon, one by one, he will remove the bills that we have slipped into place, counting his wealth and determining the extent of his assets that day. Returning the cash safety inside the bill section, I observe that there is a look of security on his face.

The most time consuming item in his shirt pocket are his giant clip ons. He has about three sets and two of them seem to be malfunctioning, appearing to more or less jump right off of his face after slipping them over the rim of his glasses. While I am driving, out of the corner of my eye I can see him fingering with patient dexterity the monster shades, carefully finding just the right point at which to make connection. Once on, after all his panes taking efforts, they fall into his lap anyway. Eventually he is able to make a secure connection and they stay in place long enough to serve their purpose before they fall off again or are removed and safely returned to the shirt pocket ready for the next sunny outing.

It would never enter his mind to have me purchase new ones. Gotta make the old work, is his philosophy. I suppose I could buy a new pair for him, surprise him, or sneak them into his stash of necessities that he empties onto his night stand at bed time. But in reality ... the manipulation seems to give him something to do.