Buttons Are Such Small Things, by Susan Annah Currie

We found a black, two-hole button on the car floorboard. It was a bit dirty and had a single black thread through one of the holes. What did it fall off of? Does one of us have a blouse or sweater with a missing button? Should I go through the closet and look for everything that has black buttons to be sure each button is secure and not missing? Or does it belong to a friend who, even now, is looking at a black sweater missing the bottom button and wondering what happened to it? Come to think of it, most things have zippers now — or Velcro. I wonder if the story of the discovery of Velcro is true? Was someone trying to get prickly, sticking burrs off a coat and suddenly had a eureka moment? "I will make Velcro to fasten coats and shoes and pants!" I imagine a cowboy getting off his horse back at the ranch, the sleeves of his coat covered in burrs like cockle burrs or sweet gum balls. Did he abandon buttons altogether? They are such small things.