I have a thing for knives

I have to confess that I like knives. I've had a collection of pocket knives since I was a kid. My earliest was about an inch long. I can't for the life of me figure out what good an inch long knife is unless it was used as some kind of tooth pick when I was a kid.

My collection grew over the years to include a skinning knife. I used that when my cousin and I decided that we would emulate Daniel Boone. I learned to throw that knife end over end and stick a tree. My cousin and I would hunt squirrel and bring back one or two, skin them, and then fry them up (tastes just like chicken). Anyway, I think that I would do okay on "Survivor" because I can fish, hunt and know how to skin animals. Multi-talented I guess.

Not so many years ago, I went to a Sportsman's show in the capital. Here in the South, a Sportman's show has all manner of things that most people don't want to bring home. There are tacky tee shirts with Confederate flags covering buxom women and Labrador retrievers, LOTS and LOTS of camo stuff, wood crafts with all kinds of things made out of cypress knees, and the "weaponry" section which has stuff like tasers....and....knives. I was drawn to the knives like a fly to honey.

I decided to buy a sleek switch blade. Now, this knife is considered a concealed weapon. It is the old fashioned blade in which you press a button and the blade springs out. I kept it in the little section under the dash board in old Blue. But I always wondered what would happen if the car were searched and the knife discovered. What would I say? "Oh, I just keep this around in case there's a random knife fight". Or, "Never know when I might run over a squirrel and could use a good blade." Ridiculous paranoid stuff about that knife would go through my head.

So when old Blue got totaled in November, I had to remove all my stuff from the car. There wasn't much because I kept the car looking like a car, rather than a place that I sleep. But I found the blade in the little compartment under the dash. I thought for a split second about adding it to new Blue. It might just come in handy if I were driving down a dark alley. Or had to impress some newcomer to Al-Anon. But I decided that I'd take it home and add it to my collection.

Besides, I think that a Swiss Army knife has a lot more practical uses: little scissors for nail cutting, a tooth pick, tweezers, screwdriver (both Philips and flathead), and a few different blades (large and small). That knife, along with the Bosun marlinspike one, are all I need for any situation on the boat. Sic semper paratis.

I'm staying sharp on this Tuesday. Hope that you are too.