When my dad became seriously ill in June, he let me keep his Toyota Corolla, since he wasn’t well enough to drive and I didn’t have a car of my own. He was a very organized and patient person, and after he died, I found among his papers a steno notebook listing all the service work done on his cars. He created columns for the date, mileage, location, services, and cost. The first page is full of entries in his familiar, neat, architect handwriting; the second page is blank, but the headers and columns have been set up. I could start it over as a spreadsheet or not keep a log at all, but for now, in what strikes me as a very literal transition, I will turn the page and continue what he started. I can start today: I brought the car to a nearby gas station for a smog check this morning, and it passed. Yay!
[Jean-Luc Picard voice] The Enterprise can now renew its DMV registration. Make it so.
3 replies on “Captain’s log”
Wow. Your papa was organized. I coulda learn a few things from him
And his handwriting’s so beautiful! (Now I see where you get your font-quality handwriting from)
Rajani–who got an N (“needs improvement”) in preschool handwriting
Very my Dad! He also was a very careful record-keeper. Back in the 70s, someone broke into our house. One of the things they got was a bunch of savings bonds. The Secret Service wanted to know if he had information on the bonds. Did he? Oh yeah… every date, serial number, etc.
He kept careful records of all kinds of things. I’m not as disciplined about such stuff, but it can be helpful.