A Passion, An Addiction

Safety pins, Bobby pins, etc, etc.

Is it possible to buy just one?

Or is it even more difficult not to have even one in an unexpected momen of emergency?

Well if I were to be judged financially by two items I possess, (safety pins and paper clips) I would be in the upper income bracket of our country

I didn’t plan to achieve this status, nor did I even try. It just happened,

I have always liked (okay, perhaps more than a casual “liked”) safety pins. More so, those enameled in pastel shades, pink, baby blue rank as favorites,

I rarely use them, but have a need to have them conveniently located in case of a “safety pin”crisis. Consequently, whenever they pop up for sale, I buy. That was rarely a problem in days of yore when the world was flooded with we once called, 5 and 10’s. Now of course, such stores are extinct, and it is a rare occasion when a single sleeve of safety pins appears on a display shelf.

Sometimes I admit to disappoinment when one of my treasures is not quite fully appreciated. I have on occasion purchased several a bit unique to be used as accessories. I recall one in particular I treasured for several decades

While living in D.C. during the early years of my marriage, I discovered it sitting alone on a glass display shelf in Garfinckel's. Although I hesitated for a brief moment, I also knew I could not relinquish the opportunity to add to my growing collection. The silver safety pin was unique and had a tiny seed pearl at its precise tip and for years was one of my treasures.

Often I would bring it out of the velvet box and briefly consider wearing it, but seldom did. Then in a moment of great affection for a beautiful bride to be, I gifted her with my gem. I still recall her immediate reaction of not quite knowing what to say.

Instantly, I realized she had never been given a safety pin as a gift before.

It was then I learned not everyone, unlike I, appreciates the the value of such an item.