Not too many things make me angry, but I must say that I hate to misplace things, and looking for a missing item is a fast track to the loss of harmony as well. I truly hate the entire dynamic, and it goes to the heart of my quirks about organization and a personal relationship with “stuff.”\n<\/p>\n
Before long, we’ll complete our final preparations and leave for Michigan. If we can survive the packing.\n<\/p>\n
It must not matter if you’re famous or anonymous, nor whether you have the means to buy almost anything once you arrive at a destination, there’s still something about packing for a trip that generates tension and the potential for conflict. When you add to that the frustration of locating misplaced items, the combination can be rather combustible.\n<\/p>\n
Charlton Heston<\/a> thought enough about this volatile phenomenon to include some observations in his excellent collection of journal entries called “The Actor’s Life<\/a>.” He wrote about various pre-departure blow-ups. Later, he records that he and Lydia finally came to a workable resolution—henceforth, he would play no part at all in packing.<\/p>\n He never mentions it again.\n<\/p>\n