A New Twist

The most obvious junk in the drawer is a collection of twist ties. Which i have packaged into one plastic bag and will count when I have another moment.

Wikipedia says: A twist tie is a metal wire encased in a thin strip of paper or plastic used to tie the openings of bags such as garbage bags or bread bags. They are often included with boxes of plastic food bags or trash bags, and are commonly available individually in pre-cut lengths, on large spools, or in perforated sheets called gangs.

Gangs, eh.

My mother objects to zip locks. Her preferred method of storage is a plastic bag, previously used to contain something, cleaned, dried, and sealed with a twist tie. Her twist ties are neatly organized in a container with sections for such things. Not only does she reuse her plastic bags, but she also reuses her twist ties until the metal is quite bald.

Here`s twist tie art (http://www.elfwood.com/~chelseasewel/Twist-tie-Dragon.2624729.html).
I wonder what other uses there are for twist ties...

I`ll include a photo and final count of the twist ties in my junk drawer when the camera returns from Mazama, Washington, where it is being used to record trad climbing ascents by a guy who looks into my junk drawer and laughs while searching for the corkscrew and beer bottle opener, which are also housed there, but are not exactly junk.

Now that the twist ties are removed, the junk drawer is looking much less junkie. Next on the agenda are the rubber bands.

Looking at my junk drawer, I think about the junk drawer of my psyche. That place where I put stuff that I don`t want to think about.

For my Aboriginal Perspectives on Education course, I am required to read about residential schools, the Canadian government`s policy of assimilation of indigenous people, genocides in Canada, the 60`s scoop, and the sad reality that more Aboriginal children today are in foster care than were in residential schools.

I believe that cleaning out my personal psychic junk will free up space in my mind, heart, and soul to put in new stuff that will assist me in my new role as teacher and thinker about education. I am (surprise surprise) interested in alternatives to the public school system, and also very ready to teach within the system to learn more about it.

There you go: junk drawer as metaphor for life.