What happens when you run out of printer ink?

This weekend I ran out of printer ink. Doesn’t that sound pretty innocent?

Yet, that silly message on my printer brought my life to halt, as though I had used cash in a VISA commercial. All of the sudden, every single thing I needed to do required a printer. This silly printer has 6 cartridges. Of course, I did not check to see how many cartridges were empty, so it took multiple trip and days to get rid of the nasty hindrance. I have now bought 2 sets of cartridges, one more set the ink will have cost more than the printer. Yes, I forgot to check how much the cartridges were before I bought the printer. It was another weekend that my life had come to a stop because a printer was broken and I was drawn to the quickest and cheapest solution. I am still paying for it. When did life get so complicated?

Monday I had to drive across town to a doctor. I came home a different route to run some errands. On both highways I saw magnetic tape strewn along the highway. It was too wide to be cassette tape. It was looping around the guard rails, shining in the sun and flying in the wind. I wondered whose identities were exposed on the side of the road.