sniffles.

“Oh my, do children not even know what handkerchiefs are? A handkerchief is a Kleenex you don't throw away. My mother embroidered it for me -- you see? My initials and a daisy, because daisies are my favorite flower.”
- Kathleen Kelly, “You’ve Got Mail”


Handkerchiefs are so pretty, what with their lace, embroidery and setimentality... tuck one in your purse to wipe away tears at a beautiful wedding, get one handed to you by your favorite gentleman caller... how nice. Then reality hits. While the idea of using a handkerchief is rather romantic [think: Anita and Roger in 101 Dalmatians, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in the above-mentioned You’ve Got Mail or any number of gentlemen handing theirs to a lovely lady], the reality of it is pretty gross. Blowing your nose into a square of fabric, only to stick it back into your pocket for it to dry and crust and later pull it out for use again. Not so romantic anymore. While I see their practicality, I just don’t think I could bring myself to use and reuse one. It’s hard enough for me to get myself to use a cloth napkin. And what if you get a bloody nose? Not only do you ruin your handkerchief, but you’re bound to run out of cloth before your nose runs out of blood. And then what?

They certainly do fit well into the whole “green” revolution though. Throw it into the wash instead of throwing away a box of used tissues. Kind of along the lines of cloth diapers. And yet I’m still stuck at the place of the idea being a great one and the reality being a bit repulsive.

I wish I could bring myself to use one, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to stick with my 21st century-living on this subject. This is one of those modern-plumbing, what-we-have-today-is-better-than-the-alternative deals. Give me a box of Kleenexes. Not as pretty to look at in theory, but at the end of the day I can throw it away instead of having a mess in my pocket.