Obsolescence
Do you ever look around and mourn for stuff that we used to use all the time and is now disappearing? For example, phone booths. Or travel agents.

There's one thing that you'd expect to be obsolete. Something that the Internet and cellphones would seem to make less necessary. Yet somehow there are more than ever. I want less of these. I want to call someone or write an email and say: come on, enough already.

I'm talking about phonebooks.

I kid you not we have received at least new 5 phonebooks in the last month. Not counting the Portland books I swiped from [omitted] because a good set of Portland books can come in handy to the Vancouver resident.

We got a Verizon book, a Clark County book, several versions of the yellow pages including one "mini" book which is completely worthless. They're almost all completely worthless. I tried to find a sewing store not long ago and found TWO listed in my new phone books that not only were no longer in business but from the look of the moldy newspapers on the floor and dusty wires hanging from the ceiling, had not been in business for a long time. And this could inspire a whole tangent about how sad it is that sewing stores are disappearing but we'll save that for another time.

Where does one put all these phonebooks? Well, yes, the recycling is a good choice but let's say that you felt that phonebooks had valuable information that you needed to keep close by in your home. Where would you put them? Ours go in a drawer of an ancient end table. That drawer is now full and can accept no more phonebooks. Please don't send any. AND should we ever need something heavy to barricade the front door from zombies. We are good to go.