On the road …again!

Afghanistan to Zambia

Chronicles of a Footloose Forester

By Dick Pellek

On Being Frugal, or Practical, or Just Plain Cheap

Many households contain things that are old.  The older the residents, it seems; the greater the chances that there are more old things on display there, even if some of them are not antiques. The Footloose Forester was not particularly interested in antiques and was not much of a collector of things nostalgic or faddish, but he did have more than his share of old things that did not qualify as antiques. Some people laughed at his stuff; others just rolled their eyes; and still others implored him to throw those things out.

He had his share of stuff that others may have considered as antiques or just outdated junk, but he generally didn’t let other people influence what he decided to keep or to discard.  He rather considered himself as frugal and pragmatic. He kept things until it was not practical to keep them anymore, regardless of what other people thought.  Everyone has a right to be who they are.  Everyone values things differently.

The Footloose Forester has a pair of shoes that are more than 51 years old.  He does not wear them often, but he does not throw them out because they are still in good shape. Modern sport shoes are far more comfortable and most of his inventory of footwear is composed of sport shoes.  He repairs the tears in them, changes the laces, applies liquid polish as needed, seals the separations with shoe goo and continues to wear them until they start to fall apart.  Most people think he is too cheap to buy new ones; but he cares more about having comfortable shoes than what they look like to other people.  Once when he had a pair of canvas sport shoes made in Korea. He kept them until they started to fall apart while he was wearing them. Long after they ceased to look presentable in public, even to him, he continued to wear them as crabbing shoes. The rough corals and sharp reefs finally did them in.  He acknowledges that not all sport shoes are created equally; and some are too hot or too uncomfortable for prolonged wear, one of the reasons why he spends so much time repairing the most comfortable ones.

Most certainly people have a point when they decide to replace their personal tooth brush. Dentists advise folks to change their worn-out tooth brushes every six months.  Except that the Footloose Forester does not share the general point of view about what is meant as being “worn out.”  He has a few tooth brushes that are several years old. He cleans out the gunk that builds up between the bristles and even trims off the bristles that are bent backward; but he alone decides when the tooth brush is worn out.  The useful life of his tooth brushes are measured in years, not months.

He must admit that he has never fallen for the advertising gimmicks about razor blades that have been upgraded and modernized over the years. As a youngster he went from red blades made by Gillette, to double-edged blue blades; but never went beyond that historical period when stainless steel razor blades were developed and pushed the blue blades out forever.  To this day, he still shaves with double edged chrome or stainless steel blades simply because he is able to coax two full months out of a single blade.

Of course, the Gillette Razor Co. long ago abandoned red blades and even blue blades for economic reasons; and put in their place the more profitable injector-type single blade; followed by the double blade injector; the triple blade injector; the quarto; and so on. Each has become more costly as a shaving system. And each system requires a new razor to house the 2-blade, 3-blade, 4-blade, and 5–blade replacements.  The Footloose Forester sticks with his 20 year old double–edge blades and a 2-blade injector system (as an alternate shaver, and as a back-up for travel) not because he is cheap but because even his 2-blade injector cartridge razor gives him two months of shaves.  And he does acknowledge having a few years worth of razor blades in the house.   

UPDATE: 25 NOVEMBER 2014
Once again, manufacturing genius has taken us back to the future.  Some 2 1/2 years after this Chronicle entry was written, there is a new razor on the market.  It is a twist handle razor designed for double edge blades; and it looks just like the one he has used for 60 years.  Although his wife knew that it was priced too high, she bought one for the Footloose Forester as an early Christmas present.  Now he has a classic version of a very familiar shaving system.  Of course he did not have to go out to buy blades; his two year supply is still on hand.

There are other examples to show that it is practical to keep some inexpensive personal items for a long time, as long as they do the job. Some 15 years ago the Footloose Forester made a trip to El Salvador where he did some volunteer work. While there he purchased a container of shampoo and conditioner: one half contained hair shampoo and the other half held conditioner.  He still has that same container.  Why? Why not?  It is practical to carry both shampoo and conditioner when he travels in places where shopping may not be convenient; and it is simple to refill the tough transparent plastic bottle when it is empty.  The amounts of shampoo and conditioner are just about right for a long trip, and the bottle does not take up much space in his travel kit.  His decision to use the same container year after year is based on its suitability to the circumstances.  The same thing holds for his use of a small container to carry after-shave lotion. He refills it every couple of months from a larger container; but when it comes to packing for a trip, he takes the small, transparent container and leaves the bigger one at home.  Oh, by the way, that small container has been serving him well for about 25 years. It is not just about being thrifty, it is about being practical. To each his own! Many other things that are old can be found around the house; and are likely to remain there as long as they function satisfactorily. 

The Footloose Forester gave away his last car. He drove it for as long as it was safe to do so, but when the local auto mechanic said that it would not pass inspection because of holes in the body, he decided to give it to a non-profit charity who agreed to have apprentice mechanics patch it up.  He drove it to work on that last day and later watched as they loaded it on the back of a flatbed truck.