June 10

There's a place in Austin where you can purchase surplus State desks and filing cabinets and all sorts of other cast-off items.

You can also paw around in big plastic tubs of items that have been confiscated by vigilant TSA agents at airports. There's a tub of nail clippers. One of pocketknives. One with little scissors. One with big scissors. And that's where I found this pair of Fiskar scissors. They seem brand new, and had a length of red satin ribbon tied on the handle.

I picture a little old lady embarking on a trip with her favorite scissors in her giant vinyl handbag. I am certain she was dismayed when they were taken from her, so in compassion for her loss, I've kept the ribbon just as she tied it.

Lubbock, Texas