~~~
Day’s Verse:
He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.”
Luke 12:22-24
~~~

Sadly, the most prosaic guess was actually correct: it is a General Tools Hardened Steel Center Punch, available at Home Depot for $15. The killer tip was broken off, which is what made identifying it so difficult. I was really rooting for an industrial fountain pen — how cool would that have been?!

Probably not quite as cool as calling up another woman named Katie Ferguson and talking to her on the phone. Normally I leave Other Katies alone, but this time I had received an email from Macy’s confirming Katie’s $600 furniture purchase, and I thought she might want the email for her records. Much to my delight, the email included her name, full mailing address, and phone number, although sadly it omitted most of the credit card digits, destroying my hopes of committing credit card fraud on somebody who has my same name. I wouldn’t even have needed a fake ID because I really am Katie Ferguson. Good thing I’m on the up and up, or Katie could have been in a world of hurt.

That would have been a bit like the time I got the Delta Airlines itinerary for an Other Katie: I could literally have flown on her flight, I think, because I got her confirmation number and I had a valid Katie Ferguson ID. That would have been predicated on my desire to go from Boston (!!) to Minneapolis via Atlanta. The really weird part of that instance was that I lived in Boston and we had recently booked plane tickets.

Turns out the Katie I spoke to today has a very unfortunate email address: katied.ferguson[etc.] whereas mine is katie.ferguson[etc.]. Imagine her telling somebody “katied.ferguson” on the phone; the “ie” and “d” would blend together and easily become just “katie” by the time the Macy’s representative typed it in. The Delta Airlines time the sender had omitted a “2” from the Other Katie’s email address.

Next new email address I get, I’m choosing something weird, or using my middle name (Moira), or something to ensure I’m a little more unique.