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McCoy: Moving lessons
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When did moving become so difficult? In college, I could pack everything I owned in my little MG and move from dorm to apartment to home with no sweat. Fifteen years later, I packed the barest of necessities in a new Volvo and moved to Tennessee. Well those easy days are gone. We just moved, and it took two huge trucks and more boxes than I could count. We packed, we packed some more, and then we got down to serious packing. It was time consuming to fill all those boxes, but I did learn some new packing tips.

First, you shouldn't pack your underwear. I know that sounds like something you'd tell a toddler during potty-training, but hear me out. It's OK to pack your yearbooks, your mouse-themed souvenirs from Disneyland, and your old Beatles albums. Once you move in to the new house, if you can't find those things right away, it's no big deal. But, if you pack your underwear, and that box gets mingled in with 10,000 other boxes, it's not going to be pretty. How would you like to be getting ready for church on Sunday morning when you realize that you don't know where your clean drawers are? Now, I'm not saying this happened to me, but the next time I move, my underwear is going to be sitting in the car, right beside me and my Bible.

Don't put your prescription medicine in a box either. Do you really want to have to track down your thyroid pills in the middle of the night? I like my medicine right where I can find it, so just put your bottles and creams in the car with your underwear and Bible. And whatever you do, don't pack chocolate bars where the heat can melt them. Carry them in the air-conditioned comfort of your car along with your underwear, prescription drugs and Bible. Throw in your razor too. Trust me on this one. No one should start their Sunday morning begging for a sharp blade while running around half naked and screaming, "Which box is marked ‘David's medication'?" In fact, the next time you have to move, just borrow an old MG or a Volvo. Shove everything you can in the trunk, then stick your Bible, underwear, chocolate, medicine and a fresh razor in the passenger seat and hit the road. If you really miss those Beatles albums, you can always make two trips.


David McCoy, a notorious storyteller and proud Yellow Jacket, lives in Conyers and can be reached at davmccoy@bellsouth.net