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Have you ever misplaced an item and emptied drawers, closets and filing cabinets, trying to track it down?

One recent afternoon I was searching for file labeled "Russia." I'd kept it for years in a gray filing cabinet, the one I use for work. I wound up cleaning out the entire filing cabinet that afternoon searching for "Russia."

The file, I recalled, had been thick with newspaper clippings about the Cold War, Stalin and the gulag. It contained information we journalists use for background. (Yes, computer geeks; I keep computer files on other subjects but prefer hard copy.)

While searching for "Russia," I found long-forgotten files about people and topics who'd once dominated the news. Were they still newsworthy or has-beens? Journalists, who are often pack rats, hesitate to toss out files because we know what goes around often comes around in the news.

That said, I decided to do some tossing. It would test my news judgment. I would have to decide which subjects and people might make a comeback in the future. Feel free, readers, to play the game, too.

The Dan Quayle file. The former vice president had a handsome face but a rather vacant head. He was a lousy speller (remember "potatoe") and a bumbling public speaker.

For example, Quayle thought he was quoting the famous motto of the United Negro College Fund ("A mind is a terrible thing to waste"). But he tripped over his tongue. Here's what Quayle said: "What a waste it is to lose one's mind, or not have a mind as being very wasteful. How true that is."

(I decided to keep the Quayle file, just for laughs.)

The Jeb Bush File. Barbara and George's younger son, the one with the brains and good judgment, was said to be the family favorite to become president of the United States. But, alas, his older brother ended up in the White House.

So is Jeb destined to become the third Bush in the White House? Not a chance. Americans are "Bushed out," and Jeb presumably agrees. After serving as a successful Florida governor, he is now a successful businessman.

(I tossed the Jeb file.)

The Hillary Clinton File. Remember how Hillary stubbornly refused to concede the Democratic primary race even when the delegate count was so obviously against her? What makes you think you've seen the last her?

(I did not toss out Hillary.)

The Flag-Burning File: This file pertains to a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban the burning of the American flag by political dissenters. The proposed amendment was formerly a hot topic, and pols jumped on the bandwagon. To hear them tell it, the republic was threatened by hordes of flag-burners and on the verge of collapse.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that the Constitution's free-expression guarantee is a big tent. Flag burning isn't nice, but it's still free expression.

Let's reserve constitutional amendments for crucial issues, not frivolous stuff. (I tossed the file, even though flag-burning will breathlessly resurface at times -- and go nowhere.)

The Term-Limits File. This file pertained to limiting terms for members of Congress. One proposal limited U.S. senators to two terms (12 years). It was a hot topic in the early 1990s when the public got fed up with long-serving pols.

The file contained columns by George Will (he was for it) and James J. Kilpatrick (he was against it). And the file? I kept it. The topic may crop up again.

As the afternoon wore on, my file-purging continued. It made me realize that issues that once seemed monumentally important were often merely fleeting.

But not Russia. It's making a comeback as a powerful presence on the world stage. And my Russia file? It's gone AWOL.

Rosemary Roberts writes a Friday column. E-mail: rmroberts@triad.rr.com.