Wednesday, April 30, 2014

I’d buy that for a dollar

How long can we last? Long ago while living in my home state of Massachusetts, I bought a can of men’s shaving cream. It wasn’t some weird impulse buy and I wasn’t being particularly finicky about brand loyalty so any can would do. This can of Old Spice was a buck.
Sold.
Hey, I had to shave and I needed to do it cheap. The can (pictured above) was as good as any to me. So I plunked down my $1 (plus applicable tax) and I was good to go. Little did I know this can would be with me, through thick and thin, through good times and bad. 
Let me explain. This can survived New England snow storms, two trips across country, the humidity of Atlanta and the blistering heat of Arizona. My marriage, the birth of my four beautiful children, my divorce, two dogs, several cars and jobs. When I needed a close shave for a job interview, this can was there. Sure I used others, but none lasted as long as 'old red'.

While my kids were growing up and my beard was growing out, this little can of shaving foam kept me clean, looking good and smelling fresh. Two weeks ago, it pumped it’s last foamy lather. 

I winced. 
My inner hoarder wants to keep such a sturdy and unbelievably durable item forever. I won’t, though this can has been with me through some of the most exciting times of my life. And for the hundreds of shaves it’s provided over the course of the last 20 years, this durable little can has been there, even when other people–and things–in my life came and went. 
You can’t put a price on that kind of stick-to-itiveness. That kind of dependability is worth it’s weight in gold. I’m glad I bought it for a dollar.

So long, 'old red.'