Don't Throw Out Those Paper Files Yet

            At least once a month one of my file cabinets gets stuck. And I mean stuck! No amount of pulling, yanking or shaking will help return the drawer back into its cabinet. Pleading and cursing don’t help either. That means one thing. I’ve stuffed and crammed too many copies of my writing into the darn thing and managed to loosen one of the screws on its sliding metal sides. The only way out is to empty it, remove the drawer and reinsert the screws. Sounds simple enough, but it’s really a two person job and the other person, my husband, isn’t always thrilled. 

           

            “We have a computer. Can’t you just back-up your files without copying all of them?”

            “I don’t want to lose them.”

           

            “That’s why they invented flash drives…and that cloud thing.”

           

            “But something could go wrong.”

           

            “What do you call spending an hour with the file cabinet?”

            In fairness, some of the stuff I’ve written was penned long before computers were around. And I just haven’t had the time to re-type my junior high diary entries, short stories, plays and that dreadful first novel that may never see the light of day. But I don’t want to part with them either. Just in case…

           

            And then, there’s the “back-up” stuff. Yeah, I do make flash drive copies and I send email versions into cyberspace, but I still can’t sleep at night unless I know I’ve got a written copy of whatever I’m working on, safely stored in a file cabinet. I blame my high school teachers for this. And my college professors. And my mother.

            The mantra was always the same.

            “Don’t turn in any work without making a copy for yourself!”

           

            I think that’s because photocopy machines were just invented and their advertising went a long way. Nonetheless, I was brainwashed. Brainwashed and obedient. I made copies of everything – from spelling lists to book reports. So it’s no wonder decades later I can’t break the habit. 

             

            But I prefer to look on the bright side. If my computer crashes or something heinous happens to my flash drives, I’ll always have the file cabinets. Provided I can still open them!