Runnels: I’m forever blowing bubbles

I guess you’ve noticed how we pick up certain habits or behaviors that’s awful hard to get rid of, even if you try. Most of the time I don’t even try.

Of course, you can’t rule out inheritance completely, I don’t know how much of my scroungin’ and savin’ is inert and how much is acquired. If I ain’t tight, I’m at least snug.

I’ve never had new material to build anything out of. I’ve had used lumber for buildings, used steel for sculpture and my junk pile is a treasure.

I’ve just got into the habit of not wastin’ anything. When I was in the military, I was told I could build myself a shop if I could scrounge the material.

Not only did I build the shop, but I furnished it with everything I needed and never made out one requisition sheet. If I couldn’t scrounge it, I stole it.

When I was in art school, I didn’t have the money to buy much of my materials, so I hit the trash cans and garbage dumps and made out pretty good. I wasn’t alone though.

About half of the school was made up of haves and the other half were have nots. You almost had to stand in line at the incinerator.

These habits have a tendency to stay with you. I guess if I’d won the lottery, back then before we even had one, I’d probably be hoggin’ out good stuff out of the trash cans.

Everything has got to come to a head sometime, and I guess the thing that made me stop to think about how screwy I really am occurred several years ago when I wanted a plastic bottle to carry my twenty-two rifle ammo in.

I wanted one of them little wide mouthed plastic bottles that kids get this bubble blowin’ soap in. You know what I’m talkin’ about.

The stuff that comes with a little wire hoop that you dip into the soap and blow through makin’ all them pretty little lighter-than-air bubbles.

Well, I couldn’t find one in any trash can in town, so I had to break down and buy me a brand new bottle of bubbles just to get the plastic container.

Do you know that made me the cleanest feller in town? I don’t remember how much the stuff cost, not much—but I couldn’t bring myself to just pour it in the commode so everyday I’d crawl in the big horse trough and sit there blowin’ bubbles.

Do you know how long it takes to use up a bottle of that stuff? I was waterlogged for months.

I’ve still got my ammo in that little bubble blowin’ bottle and I’m keepin’ it. I wouldn’t want to have to take that many baths again just for a bottle.

Courtesy of Tom Runnels Publications. Copyrighted and Registered by Tom Runnels and Saundra Runnels Revocable Trust. Printed in The Banner Press: Oct. 20, 1988.