Leslie Scott | Prosper Times contributor –
As I was lost in the abyss of Amazon shopping this weekend, I was struck by some items that I’m seeing a lot of and wondered why in the world they are just now popular. For instance, pool floats. The latest trend in pool floats are every day, but certainly random, objects. They vary from items such as a donut, a flamingo, a piece of pizza, an ice pop, a swan, the Millennium Falcon, and a watermelon, just to name a few. And then there are USB flash drives in crazy fun figures such as Yoda, a shark, a truck, a banana, a finger, and there’s a pineapple too. These everyday items being replicated onto toys and office supplies is intriguing to me.
I have to admit that I own some of these very silly items. I think USB drives that look more like toys are fun. I also think that kitchen utensils in bright colors are better than the typical black or metal ones. I like the weird and wacky rather than the typical. I saw an amazing three-piece set of kitchen tools over the weekend that I wanted to purchase solely because of their beautiful color. Good thing my husband was there to remind me that I do not need any more spatulas, even if they were the most beautiful bright blue.
I’m also fascinated with sheets that have fun characters on them. And shower curtains too. Perhaps I’m turning into an eccentric person, but what fun are plain sheets, plain kitchen utensils, and plain shower curtains?
I also believe that literature has taken this same turn in the past couple of years and veered toward the unusual and different. In the past couple of months, I’ve read several books that, as I was reading them, I paused because they were so unusual. The plots were not much different or out of the ordinary, but the ways in which the story was told and the situations the characters found themselves in were definitely different.
Just a few minutes of inventory, and it’s plain to see that I’m pretty expressive in my personality through day-to-day objects. My main USB drive is a card catalog replica of long ago, pizza and a flamingo float in my pool, my kitchen utensils are a rainbow of fun colors, my scooter helmet is a replica of Speed Racer’s, and there’s many more of these little nuances of my personality that show through everyday items. Whether it is pool toys, USB drives, or a book with a decidedly different type of character, knowing what you like and having it be part of your life is a good thing. Take a look around and see what items bring you happiness or expose your personality. You might be surprised that they do, or perhaps they don’t. If they don’t, start with the pool toys and USB drives!
Leslie Scott is the Director for the Prosper Community Library.
