We need to get rid of it somehow

Thursday, 30 June 2011, Day 219/365.

When I was a kid we used to use handkerchiefs to blow our noses. I remember mum washing them by boiling them up in a bit pot reserved especially for this job, and then she probably put them through the washing machine. Our laundry was in a separate out-building so that process was usually quite removed from my day-to-day activities.

It was then my job to iron the hankies, as we called them. It was a job I didn’t mind doing probably because it was quite easy and we all had specific jobs to do as kids.

I couldn’t imagine doing this now. And I don’t know anyone who uses hankies to blow their noses any more. I especially couldn’t imagine how many hankies I would go through when I’ve got a runny nose.

I also couldn’t imagine having to get my son to dispose of his snotty hankies in the appropriate spot. It’s bad enough with tissues that I find lying around on all sorts of surfaces which drives me nuts and I can only imagine how many hankies he would go through when he’s got a snotty nose.

An aside. The Surfer doesn’t usually have a tissue stash like I do and his son in particular gets hayfeverish so often has to blow his nose. If there’s no tissues around he uses toilet paper which he throws straight into the toilet. He did this at my place one day and didn’t flush it at all, and I have tissues. I guess it was just his habit to get some toilet roll to blow his nose. I needed to use the toilet and thought I’d flush beforehand because it was looking a bit full but it didn’t flush. I wasn’t very pleased. I had a bit of a go at trying to unblock and then passed the job onto The Surfer as it was his son who’d left the loo paper in the toilet.

Another aside. When in India I saw lots of people blow their nose by blocking off one nostril and blowing the snot out of the other nostril onto the street. I’m pretty sure this would be frowned upon in most or all first-world countries and it’s not something I want to make a habit of. I don’t know if I prefer that to the annoying sniff though.

Back to the handkerchief. I tried to buy a handkerchief for my son so as a Scout he would be prepared. It was a suggestion from his scout leader. I couldn’t find one so he’s ill-prepared for his snotty nose should he get one. Ill-prepared unless he uses toilet paper or the block one nostril and blow out the other method.