Smorgasbord #33

Nostalgia, Bulk Trash and CleaningMania

May 31, 2024

Hello friends! This is Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas—the black licorice of newsletters. It’s the last day of May, and the body knows it. Things have been heating up in the Southwest, and I got my first sunburn of the season; nothing major, but a good reminder to start rocking the UPF 50 hats and sunshirts. This one gives me Dune vibes (not an affiliate link). Alright, let’s get on with it.

Nostalgia

A few days ago, I watched the Disney+ documentary about The Beach Boys, and I was fascinated to learn so much about the band I got to know through the show Full House. Remember Full House? R.I.P. Bob Saget.

The tension between Brian Wilson and his dad made me very uncomfortable, mainly because it was clear that Brian was infinitely more talented than his father, who was also a composer. The power dynamics of a family business make my skin crawl.

I thought it was interesting that there was a touring and recording band. After some time, Brian Wilson would compose and record with session musicians, and when the rest of the band returned from touring, they would record vocals, put together the album, and go back on the road.

The ever-changing lineup also caught my attention. Brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine were the founding members. However, different musicians have joined the lineup in the last six decades.

At some point, it wasn’t cool to listen to The Beach Boys anymore. Psychedelia made things weird, and they ended up recording a song about vegetables somehow. LSD, man. But I guess they wanted to leave behind the striped-shirt days and create the music they wanted to create, which is understandable. However, Endless Summer came out in 1974, a compilation album of the band's music from 1962 through 1965.

As much as they didn’t like this, a new audience got to know The Beach Boys (me included in 1988). This made me think of all the reunion tours I’ve seen happening. The fanbase of every band grows old and has more money; bands can cash in on the nostalgia, and everybody wins.

Lastly, I love that Brian Wilson had Paul Tanner create a new instrument for Good Vibrations, the Slide Theremin, which represents the sound of the good vibrations the song talks about.

Bulk Trash

It’s that time of year when piles of junk sit in front of people’s houses, and pick-up trucks roam neighborhoods in search of junk to haul before the city takes away the rest. An excellent opportunity to get rid of an SUV worth of crap you don’t need.

We got rid of a couch, a printer, an Adirondack chair, and all the blow-up mattresses in the house—they kept losing air, and we didn’t have the time to find the leak and patch it, mainly because the patch kit was probably lost between the cushions of the couch we just got rid of.

I don’t know if you are like me in that you find delight in getting rid of things you don’t need anymore. My ability to let go of material things has helped me get rid of mental or even spiritual stuff I didn’t need—a kind of holy detachment, if you will. I try to do this with my clothes every spring and winter, and this practice positively affects my head. I feel better and lighter.

Oddly enough, our Church was also doing some spring cleaning, and a patio furniture set of wicker chairs and tables was offered to us, and we said yes. I’m looking forward to having my morning coffee on the front porch.

CleaningMania

Inspired by the bulk trash events, I acquired a few things to make our lives a little more organized. For example, we used to have a crate where our four children kept their shoes. Invariably, whenever they looked for their shoes, they would dump the crate and scatter them all over God’s creation. So, I bought an over-the-door shoe organizer with 24 pockets, hung it behind the kids’ bedroom door, and put their shoes in the pockets.

This led to a purge of shoes that no longer fit, and if you have kids, you know how fast they grow out of shoes. Those shoes will be taken to our local second-hand shop specializing in kid’s clothes, and we’ll hopefully get credit for them. And we claimed some space back in that bedroom. Don’t feel better just reading this? Marie Kondo would be proud.

I got tired of seeing the Q-tip box in our bathroom, so I bought three small plastic containers that were aesthetically pleasing and didn’t break the bank. It’s the little things.

I also cleaned my chaotic desk. I put away the piles of books and kids’ drawings. I gathered so much junk mail and started shredding it. I got a little too excited with the shredding, and I jammed the paper shredder. Unjamming the paper shredder is one of my weekend projects now.

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Sobremesa

Do you have a favorite Beach Boys song?
What’s one thing you need to get rid of but haven’t?
Do you have any favorite organization “hacks”?
Have a lovely weekend!
-W
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