A man’s needs and wants change with the years.
I remember wanting a slot car set one Christmas. A guitar another time. Paint by numbers, cameras, books, records, clothes by the rack full, and in more recent times, digital anything.
I don’t think of myself as materialistic, but I guess I truly am. I excuse all these quests for new acquisitions by saying I am trying hard to keep our consumer economy going. Singlehandedly.
But this year, I scaled back my greediness. I asked for and got – a backscratcher. Twelve hours have passed since I opened that metal beauty with extendable arm and there is not an itch anywhere that is even dreaming of sneaking up on me.
But our dog and two cats have discovered the darned thing too and I can see that a great deal of time will be spent by me in 2016 scratching their little bodies into states of blissful submission.
However, discord has arisen as they fight over whose turn it is next, and in the case of the dog, whether cats are worthy candidates for scratching at all. (Spoiler Alert: He has concluded they are not.)
I have already made up my wish list for next Christmas and there is only one item on it: Another backscratcher.
©2015 Jim Hagarty
