To Box, Or Not To Box?
This segment was originally broadcast on June 5, 2005.
The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News Correspondent Andy Rooney.
From day to day we all get along pretty well in a general sort of way. I mean, we're polite to each other, but we're all so different. I don't know why we get along at all.
Just for an example of how we differ, some of us keep what something comes in, and put it back after we use it. Other people never put anything back in what it came in.
I'm in a third, splinter group. There are quite a few of us, too. I never put anything back in the box it came in, but I don't throw the box away, either.
I have drawers, cabinets and closets filled with the things something came in.
Some very expensive jewelry must have come in a Tiffany box.
Over the years I've bought quite a few eyeglasses. The optometrist always gives me something to keep the glasses in. I never throw away a glass case, but I never keep my glasses in one either.
Over the years at Christmas, people have given me fancy pen and pencil sets that come in a box. I lose the pens and pencils, but I keep the boxes they came in.
I have no idea what came in one container. It unzips! If I want to carry it over my shoulder, it has a shoulder strap inside. I have a lot of shoulder straps.
Another container must have been something expensive. It's padded with foam rubber.
American Airlines used to give everyone a little bag: it had slippers and nightshades in it. Now you're lucky if they give you a seat.
One nice little can must have been for soap in a Ritz Carlton Hotel I stayed in. Isn't stealing, is it — taking soap from a hotel?
How could I throw away this little box. Inside it says, "This coin is a replica of a special issue in commemoration of the first King of Hungary - Saint Stephen."
I have the box. I have no idea what I did with the coin, or who Saint Stephen was for that matter.
Over the years, I must have bought 10 tennis rackets. They all come with a racquet cover. I never cover my tennis racket with a racket cover.
I must have 10 or 12 computer bags that I never use.
Maybe what I ought to do is this: I'll have a garage sale someday. I'll keep all these bags and boxes that something came in, and sell my garage.
Written By Andy Rooney