Umbrella Tassels

I worked at Merced College today. It was rainy and deary. Most certainly because it was raining I found myself traipsing across campus from one building to the next. Had it been a beautiful, sunshiny day, I am positive all of the people I needed to see would be clumped in one building. But, as it was, I was on the move. I was sloshing through puddles and sinking my heels in grass. It was on these cross-campus journeys I noticed the fascinating world of umbrella tassels.

Yes, umbrella tassels.

As I ventured through the rain I noticed the navy blue strip hanging in my view. It is that thin piece of fabric with Velcro or a snap that you wrap around a closed umbrella. Well, I likely wouldn't have been so mesmerized by this thingamabob, but the one on my umbrella is really long. I began sizing up other umbrellas and noticed a sheer assortment of tassels...all of them shorter than mine. Then I got this tassel complex. Why was mine so long? Were people judging me by my tassel length? Why must it flop around so, seemingly seeking unwanted attention? Yes, sadly, I think about these things. I have mentioned I am self-conscious right?

So with my tassel, that now seemed larger than a loaf of bread, I observed the tassels of the world. Every umbrella no matter how new or old; faded or shocking in color had a tassel. Even one particularly horrid umbrella that was like a clear, plastic dome had a tassel. Actually, seeing that umbrella made me feel a bit better. I was glad I wasn't under a dome looking through plastic as I slopped around campus. Though, I must admit that it had a desirable, nondescript tassel.

I wondered what other things I miss purely because I don't take the time to notice? Umbrella tassels are a silly little thing. What big things do I not see because I am in an all-important hurry to nowhere? I think I am going to keep my eyes open a bit wider (they are pretty wide already!) in the future to see other small things I tend to overlook. In the meantime, I plan on swapping out my umbrella for the one in my hub's truck. He is a big guy. He can pull off a big tassel!