Earlier this month, Hiram and I visited Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. We had a wonderful time, though their “form follows function” philosophy and 30,000 perfectly placed wall pegs stirred up OCD tendencies that had lain dormant for years. Since the celebration of our anniversary was the reason we lingered in Kentucky after I spoke at a conference in Lexington, we wanted to select the perfect souvenir.
Something special.
Something really, really special.
You know, something that would evoke memories of our romantic get away.
Like a…
Like a…
handmade Shaker broom.
Bet that’s the first thing you thought of, huh? Now, I could make a bunch of excuses concerning our choice:
- The toothless, stereotypical Kentucky craftsman in the broom shop was a relentless salesman who twisted our arms until we caved and bought the broom.
- I have been pining for a Shaker broom for decades.
- We were heavily influenced by the media blitz around the premier of the last Harry Potter movie.
- We have so many knick knacks that a functional souvenir appealed to us.
- I’m too cheap to buy something unless we really need it
Ding, ding, ding!The last excuse is the reason we bought the broom,
which is why that excuse has a ring of truth,
hits home,
fits us to a tee,
hits the nail on the head,
or whatever idiom you choose to describe us.
I like to say that the last excuse stands on it’s merits. Because that idiom brings to mind our Shaker broom, which the toothless, stereotypical Kentucky craftsman in the broom shop said should stand on its own.
And it does.
Which makes me think the toothless, stereotypical Kentucky craftsman was a better salesman than this gullible, stereotypical midwestern couple made him out to be. We’ll probably think of him every time we use our Shaker broom. And since the guy said the broom would last twenty years or more, we’ll be thinking about him pretty often.
How romantic.
