Things that can't be thrown away

Those free labels with name and address printed on them keep piling up. They must be successful as fund-raising devices, but the ugliness quotient on most of them is very high. Lately, some add stickers with either greeting-card sentiments (miss you, happy anniversary, you're the best, for you) or quotations from the famous or just the anonymously inspirational (Ralph Waldo Emerson is not forgotten, but one can't help but wonder what this means: "Reality is a sliding door."). Seldom seen are the ones that aren't self-adhesive, although occasionally a funds-poor outfit will send a few. In this humidity they soon stick to one another to form a solid block. Most have very ugly designs. There are so many unemployed designers of graphics who'd donate their work, even the worst of which would be better. Some organizations send writing tablets or scratch pads. From mailers targeting the Spanish-speaking, we receive inspirational booklets and lots of refrigerator magnets, some with pop-out centers to use as photo frames. Anyhow, since we just don't pitch out those labels, maybe we'll live long anough to use them up.