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I was wandering an estate sale one day and, there it was, the exact item I’d been needing, a cylindrical Krups brand coffee grinder. It was perfect, bright red and like new. There it sat attractively, until I picked it up and trailing was its cord neatly stowed in a shiny green and gold contact paper-covered toilet paper tube! ARGH! This innocuous little item set off within me an existential crafting crisis.

Now, I’m open minded, sometimes to my detriment. I pride myself for my ‘live and let live’ philosophy. I would say adamantly that I’m not judgmental. But here I was faced with a hidden area of imperfection. I was judging people who engage in a small list of weird crafts, at the top of which are contact paper-covered toilet paper tubes (and boiled turkey carcasses turned into decorated Santa’s sleighs, but that’s another story).

I don’t want to think myself classist but out crawled the weird feeling that I was “better than” those who crafted these abominations, er objects, the ideas for which undoubtedly emerged from odd detours in the mind of some creative person. Who was the first person to look at a toilet paper tube and see art? What was going through their mind…‘A little color and they’ll never guess’?

OK, I let myself vent thinking maybe if I admitted aloud my hidden area of judgement it would be less of a bug-a-boo for me.

What was she or he thinking? A toilet paper tube attached to a kitchen implement? And ugly green and gold contact paper paired with a bright red grinder? What, Christmas year around? I’m all for creative repurposing but don’t they realize it stops at toilet paper tubes?

I know I could simply throw out the intrusive green tube and let my imperfection sink again to the depths of my psyche, but maybe it was time I forced myself to face it, and, well, that cord was trained to reside so neatly in that tube. So, my cheery red grinder and its ugly tube have sat on my kitchen windowsill for a couple weeks. I’m afraid, though, the tube seems to grow bigger and bigger and more monstrous every time I look at it.

What to do, what to do, maybe talk it over with someone…my BFF, she won’t judge me even though I’ve never asked her thoughts on toilet paper tube crafting.

“Oh, I totally agree, tacky, I would never do it or have one,” she assured me. “But I’m not sure I share your judgment of folks who have them around. And, I have to admit that I have attractively covered a longer paper tube I found that works perfectly for keeping…”

Oh dear, oh dear if she could think them tacky yet not be judgmental of those who have them maybe I could. Just keep my mouth shut and own up to my imperfections. But what about tube crafting in general? I didn’t feel the urge to judge her for her foray into paper tube covering. OK, I was comfortable that my judgement stopped at people who set colorfully adorned toilet paper tubes around thinking they blend in with the decor of a home.

Then…my BFF shared my toilet paper tube conundrum with a mutual friend we both admire. She has a beautiful home and a lot of taste… but totally blew up the whole problem. “What, people actually cover them? she laughed. I use them on cords all over the house, they work great!”

Editor’s Note – Marilyn sent a message with her submission: “I went to check the grinder to see if the tube was still attached for a picture, but I must have had a ‘can’t take it anymore moment’ sometime past.” Alas, no photo of the contact paper-covered toilet paper tube. However, when I did a quick internet search on “toilet paper tube art” you can’t believe the riches I found — it’s a thing!

Marilyn Michael leads the Writer’s Workshop at Wallingford Community Senior Center on Wednesday afternoons. She’s been writing for publication for thirty years and keeps a focus on helping writers find an audience.