The sturdy 1.5-size boxes used to pack up my office for an upcoming renovation project were ideal. I could clear a shelf or more of books yet still lift the box without injury.
Apparently, that is one of two stated purposes for these boxes. While taping up the bottom of one, I noticed it was stamped with the words: “BOOK/RECORD.”
Mostly I had books to pack away, but some files which could also be called records.
Then it hit me: “RECORD” — not as in a file folder, but as in an album. You know, an LP. A long-playing record that spins at 33 and a third rpm. Vinyl.
After taking some boxes of fragile items home, curiosity got the best of me. So I dug out a couple of old favorite albums to test my conclusion.
Sure ‘nuff, these record albums were the exact size of the boxes that were once made to ensure their safe relocation — such as from home to dorm or into some groovy apartment shared with someone who had a nice stereo with a turntable.
I showed one of the albums to my high-school-senior daughter. She examined it closely as if a dinosaur bone and said: “You know, I’ve never actually held one of these.”
Well, technology is always on the move. And, in most cases, that is a good thing.
So I guess when my daughter goes off to college next year it will not require too many “BOOK/RECORD” boxes. A Kindle, smart phone and laptop should be enough — unless those are passé by then.
