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There’s a new book out that may make you feel better about your fierce attachment to that Petoskey stone, cocktail napkin, or bottle cap stowed away somewhere. It’s called “Taking Things Seriously: 75 Objects with Unexpected Significance,” brought to you by Joshua Glenn and Carol Hayes. The team has a fan in the LA Times, who breaks it down thusly:
They asked artists, designers, writers and thinkers to contribute photos of their precious belongings and explain their significance. The result is a wonderfully eccentric collection of “things” and thought-provoking essays that underscore French philosopher Bruno Latour’s challenge to regard objects as more than merely matters of fact but, Glenn writes in his introduction, as “an association, a network, a gathering” of meaning and ideas.
Some of the items people in the book hold dear:
- A pile of red dirt
- Ceramic pegs from an electric fence at Birkenau
- A bagel prepared by Christopher Walken
During my entire third grade year, I collected confetti in lunch bags, but I never found a celebration worthy of expending it & eventually let them be thrown away in some domestic deep cleaning session. I’m not sure I even have one precious, unremarkable object to my name. Not an impressive or important or exceedingly maudlin one, anyway…So I’m going to raid my closet until I do & I can feel complete. So this is where I implore you to share your own…
Comments (19)
Comment
I had several boxes full of concert tee-shirts dating back to 1976 thru 1995. I grew up in Houston and went to a lot of concerts back then, so ther were a lot of shirts and a lot of memories for me in those boxes. Each one had it’s own story and meaning to me. I went to get one of the shirts one day and could not find them. My ex-wife had thrown them away! ( one of the many reasons that she is ex- )
posted by sandburr on 8-6-2007 at 11:26 pm
I have the: keys, hubcaps, Headlight assemblies, wipers, cigarette lighter, jack, and rearview mirror of my first car. I had the horn but I gave it to a buddy.
I still miss my ‘74 Dodge Dart
posted by Tdave on 8-7-2007 at 12:31 am
One favorite thing I saved from one my parents’ yard sales. It’s a bottle opener, the front end is the head and front legs of a stylized water buffalo made of wrought iron, the handle is some kind of bone. I have no idea where it came from.
posted by taylor on 8-7-2007 at 1:26 am
I wear a guitar pick on a chain around my neck. It’s a brass pick, and it belonged to my uncle who died a few years ago. That and his guitar (which I can’t play) are what I keep as his memory.
On a lighter note, I also have the VW symbol of the hood of my old Beetle, and the 8-ball shifter knob my grandpa and I custom made out of a real 8-ball in my garage somewhere.
posted by Charlie on 8-7-2007 at 5:45 am
I have the entire run (155 issues) of Marvel’s G.I. Joe comic books, which ran from 1984 until 1993. When I was a kid I began collecting them and my mom, who was always very supportive of my interests, helped me dig through back issue boxes in order to find the gaps in my collection. Eventually I stopped reading the comic, but when she passed away in 1996, I thought it would be a fitting tribute to complete the series. Thanks to the internet I was able to track down the last 60 or so issues that I needed, which now reside in a wooden box I made to preserve them. Geeky, I know, but it was something that will always make me think of Mom.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 8-7-2007 at 7:45 am
I keep a small sliver of wood from the house I grew up in. I went back a got it several years after we had moved out.
I also keep a bunch of concert tee-shirts and other speciatly tees that I’m afraid to wear in case they rip, since I can’t replace them.
posted by Bill T. on 8-7-2007 at 7:50 am
I have a bunch of t-shirts from community theater productions I’ve been in. For anyone with a collection of t-shirts that you can’t throw out but can’t wear anymore, a great idea is to *gasp* cut the graphic out (which is usually a big square on the front or back) and make them into a quilt. That way they’re useful, you’re not getting rid of them, and you have a bunch of memories in one big snuggly blanket. Yeah, that’s on my list of things to do when I have 800 hours of free, uninterrupted time.
posted by caitlen on 8-7-2007 at 9:01 am
I have a small bag of grayish sand that came from the many colors of a Tibetan Buddhist Mandala. I was able to watch them build it and destroy it within a week’s time.
I also have a small bag of saw dust. I was the only student worker for my college bookstore. When I went to England for a study abroad program, they were doing some major remodeling. They didn’t want me to miss out on all the fun, so they sent me a care package that included a bag of the saw dust from the store.
posted by Tru on 8-7-2007 at 9:25 am
I have the shells from the gun salute from both of my grandfather’s funerals. Since both served in the Army, they both received the honor.
posted by Day on 8-7-2007 at 10:00 am
Another alternative to keeping tee shirts (without tearing them) is to have them framed. I’ve had that done to a tee shirt designed by my husband. You probably can’t do that to all of them, but for a few extra special ones, it’s pretty cool.
posted by b.g. on 8-7-2007 at 10:29 am
I, too, have a plethora of concert and souvenir t-shirts that I will never wear, but can’t bring myself to part with because of the memories. I also kept the license plates from my first car.
The most obscure, though, is a pack of “Death” brand cigarettes. They’re in a black pack with a skull and crossbones. I found them at a head shop, and found the concept amusing. I quit smoking long ago, but there were times when I was a broke smoker that I considered busting them open. Luckily, I never got THAT desperate. I can’t bring myself to throw them out.
posted by B.N. on 8-7-2007 at 12:11 pm
i wrote the c walken bagel piece. you should note that it was “served burned” by walken, rather than just cooked.
jk
posted by j kelly on 8-7-2007 at 1:22 pm
I still have the $2 bills my Great-Grandmother gave me. Along with some gambling tokens we found in her room after she passed.
I also have tickets from almost every concert I have been to.
posted by Dusty on 8-7-2007 at 1:29 pm
Mint tins mainly “Eclipse Mints” tins, and glass bottles. I can’t bear throwing away glass and metal containers that are pretty!
posted by Rachel* on 8-7-2007 at 1:41 pm
I tend to collect meaningful objects. Doodles given to me by friends, matchbooks, rocks, metro passes from Chicago, Mpls, and San Fran. Other stuff, like ticket stubs, keys, hospital braclets, a cork from a bottle of Cava I had in Spain. Also I have this round, flat piece of metal. It’s about 2 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Brown. Writen on one side are the words, “THIS SIDE DOWN,” which, of course, you can only see when it’s up. The only thing it’s good for is my own amusement. I know I’ll move it countless times.
posted by Adam on 8-7-2007 at 3:00 pm
An incredibly ugly apron purchased at Wal-Mart years ago, and in its pocket, an also-ugly miniature Troll doll with purple, hot pink and yellow hair. The apron is seriously butt-ugly (turquoise with a horrid red and orange pattern on it - it’s not floral, it’s not paisley, I don’t know what the heck it is) and I hate Troll dolls, but these both remind me of a simpler, more carefree time: college. The apron was for those of us doing the “cooking” at a weenie roast party we had, and the troll was some kind of impulse purchase at the Wal-Mart register, justified as a lucky charm for the day. I wonder if my friend still has her apron and troll-in-pocket as well.
posted by Jenny on 8-7-2007 at 3:06 pm
Thanks for mentioning my forthcoming book. I like the comments here! The uncle’s guitar pick is an excellent memento mori.
Hi John K!
posted by Josh Glenn on 8-7-2007 at 3:51 pm
I have a broken piece of a bowl I made in grade school as a present for someone and dropped on my way to give it to her. I have no idea why I kept it or why I still have it, but I won’t part from it either.
I also have the WWII bayonet that belonged to my favourite uncle from his military service.
posted by zale on 8-7-2007 at 8:12 pm
I have a certain t-shirt put away in a plastic baggie. I got it as a volunteer at a Humane Society affair. The last time I wore it was when I attended the birth of my 1st granddaughter. Evanna was a “Potter’s baby” (meaning her urinary system failed to develop in utero). She was born just before 6:00 am & died just before noon that same day. I held and rocked her for over 1/2 hour. When I got home, I just couldn’t bring myself to wash the shirt, so I put it away.
posted by Frankie on 8-17-2007 at 4:25 pm