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As the months roll on, I’ve gotten quite a few messages on this blog, through e-mail, and in person that others have caught the “giving away” bug. They might have caught it from me or it might have just been the right time in their life to let go of more stuff. If I have been a carrier of this bug, I’m pleased.

Building on last week’s “Being Silly” post, however, I’ve discovered that I’ve also created a copycat “silly gene.” A few days ago I received a mysterious package with a letter saying that the sender had been so edified by my give aways that he decided to imitate me. The writer explained that he didn’t think he could discard his unneeded items on his own, so he was sending them to me to dispose of as I saw fit.

Hmmmm. Sounded a little fishy but I was giving the mystery giver the benefit of the doubt. I couldn’t help laughing, however, as I uncovered the following objects:

  • 9 Styrofoam cups
  • 26 index cards
  • 45 pieces of scrap paper
  • 1 cardboard crucifix
  • 1 match
  • 1 pair of earplugs
  • 1 pair of broken sunglasses
  • 1 box of golf pencils
  • 1 zipper
  • 1 pair of chopsticks
  • ½ bag of seeds
  • a foot of ribbon
  • phone cord
  • plastic doll
  • vanilla flavored sugar capsule for coffee (I don’t drink coffee.)
  • Self –Esteem cassette tape
  • empty egg carton

The letter was signed by a Harvey Kecker which didn’t ring any bells, but it had a return address of Hamden, CT and cost $3 to send.

Hmmmm. I spent the next 30 minutes sleuthing on the internet to figure out who my secret admirer was. I had a hunch which I later confirmed with a phone call to an old friend who lives in New Haven.

The moral of the story is that sillyness is contagious also, but even better is the knowledge that someone took the time and $3 to send some laughter my way. Pass it on and make someone laugh today.

PS: In the spirit of ridiculous give aways, I also found the following around the house:

  • a bag of about 50 old panty hose that I had been saving as batting for stuffed animals that I might sew for our toddlers one day. (The youngest is now 26.)
  • a bag of plastic bags (I have no idea what I was saving them for.)
  • a duplicate, almost used up, shoe shine kit.

I will recycle these items since none are worth giving away. The question of the week is: How many stockings with runs, plastic bags, and almost empty items are enough?