For some reason we were watching a show called Hoarders. It’s a reality thing about people who live surrounded by piles of shit because they can’t bear to throw anything out. I could somewhat identify as I have had, let’s say, trouble throwing things out because they may come in handy for some household or artistic purpose some day. My wife on the other hand has no trouble at all ditching anything showing the slightest sign of wear, no matter what’s in the pockets. I have learned a lot from her (not least that I’d better not let myself look worn out!). Anyway there was this poor woman (Shirley?) who, for some reason rooted in who knows what past trauma, felt obliged to buy any food item that seemed to be a good deal and, when she didn’t eat it, just leave it around the house to rot. She got very upset when they threatened to evict her because of the stink (she couldn’t smell a thing) and finally, with the encouragement of several mental health professionals, grudgingly accepted the offer of the show people to scrape the mould off the fridge and dispose of some of the less recently expired items. An especially poignant moment was her fond goodbye to a blackened, liquefying pumpkin that had graced her floor for some months (“You were a good pumpkin!”). And in the middle of the show was a commercial which ?coincidentally? echoed the same theme. A mother comes into her son’s messy room and starts sniffing around, declaring that everything stinks. So does she call in the shrinks and the cleanup crew to hose it out? On the contrary. She produces a spray bottle of Febreze and magically solves the problem. The room now smells fresh and is approved of by the local hot chicks. I don’t know why they didn’t just do the same for Shirley, but I guess the human interest factor would have been lost.
