Tempos, one of life's greatest treasures!

Can't ever have enough Tempos

My dear mother, Verda Mae Christensen, found great joy in the last 10 years of her life shopping at NPS Market Square on Industrial Road in Salt Lake City, looking for bargain after bargain.  On more than one occasion, she would come home with something that I thought was totally crazy, even making a comment about it, and then finding myself a week or two later asking if I could borrow it.  For example, she once purchased an audio visual cart and primarily used it to move her groceries from the car to the house.  After she passed away in 2004, I inherited it and use it all the time for my computer projector and other audio visual stuff.  OK, so I didn't give my Mom enough credit, and I'm now eating some humble pie and getting some just reward from my own kids.

Mom always thought that if one item was a good bargain, than 10 was even a better deal.  One such acquisition by her, was a tissue called Tempos.  They came with these handy visor holders and to the naked eye, they were just another tissue.  But Tempos, actually are a four ply tissue.  Soft enough to use on your nose, but tough enough to wipe a spill in the car, or to wipe down something without falling apart like a normal tissue.  We quickly fell in love with the things and in the nature of my brother Clayton's research about "A job to be done", the job here was not really as a tissue but wiping up life's challenges within your car.  When Mom passed away in 2004, her assets were divided and disbursed by her Trust, it was the Tempos that were evenly divided amongst the kids.  I will have to admit, in taking home a case of them, I didn't really ever anticipate running out.  

Four or so years later, panic went through my own household with the realization that we were on our last package of Tempos.  We went to the Internet, and found a supplier through Amazon when we couldn't find any in the stores, and purchased another case.  As you can imagine, my other siblings were also running out, and in the spirit of generosity, we did share some of those Tempo Tissues with them.  Fast forward to 2012. On the edge of running out again, I went back to the Internet to find out that Tempos were discontinued in their manufacturing.  As I read customer reviews I quickly found out that others shared my panic and love for the things.  I also found out a secondary market for the stuff had developed on eBay.  However I came across a new options, albeit 3-ply product, called Halsa.  Halsa, it just isn't the familiar tone of Tempo and it just wasn't quite the same.  However I was grateful to not have to reform my life, and purchased a mere 40- three package replacements of the stuff.  This time with the intent, to really stick it to family members who want them, and using them for bartering items for family activities.  Like gold for some, I now have a nearly extinct product on my hand!

Yes, I had to open the box and individually verify the inventory!

I realize that my mother wouldn't approve of my high leverage attitude, after all ,she hadn't charged me anything for the original stuff.  She would have given the "shirt off her back" to not only us, but anyone who needed it.  I would do a disservice to her for holding this stuff hostage.  I'm sure at the first family gathering when someone laments, that they're out of "Tempos", I will probably be offering up my new Halsa collection.  If Mom only knew.....