Last night I realised I don’t chew gum anymore. Not only that, but I also don’t know the last time I saw someone chewing gum.
Oh, I was a serious member of the Wrigley’s Spearmint fan club. You know, that iconic green pack of individually wrapped silver pieces of flavoured rubber whose discarded foil sometimes acted as fake braces for your teeth? Yeah. That. Not so much anymore.
Naturally, it left me wondering …
I’m calling this: Things I Used To Do Often, Now Never
- Chew gum
- Swim
- Ride a bike
- Beer as a drink preference
- Read a novel a week
- Read a newspaper
Okay, this one is not of my free will. I’ve been reading newspapers since I was seven years old living in our flat off Park Lane in London. Oh, how I adored the Herald Tribune and The Washington Post. Then, about ten years ago, newspaper writing and editing became atrocious. What a waste of fact-checking talent and conviction for the printed word. Ben Bradlee and Katharine Graham would be furious.
- Lack self esteem
- Forget myself over a guy
Here’s a fine example of silly. I was half through my Italian sub when a guy I fancied rang, very last minute, and asked to join him for lunch. Know what I did? Oh, yeah, I threw away the last of my ten dollar sandwich and crisp bag and went out for lunch … again. And I never mentioned that I had already been out. This means I went to lunch twice in one day. That’s ridiculous. What was so wrong with saying ‘sorry, not today, how about tomorrow instead’?). Note to self: See two bullets up.
- Drink soda
- Eat toast, or bread for that matter
- Read daily horoscopes
- Hand write letters
Type for sure, but write a letter by hand? Not bloody likely. I still enjoy sending the odd postcard here and there, though the pressure to write clearly and spell correctly is intense. So much so, it makes me nervous and I have to practice first. Nervous over, what, three sentences tops? Strange, right?
- Listen to the radio
- Wear heels
Or shoes of any sort for that matter. No, these days my feet are as bare as they come. It’s hippie summer living here for my little piggies, pretty much all year ’round.
- Light candles
- Watch Wimbledon
- Visit California
- Re-arrange furniture
- Go to a mall
Never a thing of mine to do anyway – I have no idea when I was last in a mall as an outing. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you how to get to the nearest one. Do they even exist?
- Take echinacea
- Wear eye shadow
95% of the things listed here I’d welcome back. They appear to be harmless habits (is that the write word here) I simply grew out. The remaining 5%? Happy to see them go and good riddance.
Next up, I’ve a lazy afternoon and evening ahead of me. Tomorrow I am off to the mountains to see my my Mum and brother Fred. I’ve not travelled since I got back from England in February. It’s been far too long and my cabin fever is at an all time high. I would have been in Clevedon (north of Glastonbury) twice by now and planning the next, and be on mini road trip number three.
But! Shouldah, couldah, wouldah … Patience is what is required in this time of a pandemic. First the Mountains, then, if all continue to wear masks and put this global mess in check, it’s back up in the Clouds.
Happy Saturday.