Comments on: New book discloses objects of import

By: Frankie

Frankie — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 22:25:48 +0000

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.

By: zale

zale — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:12:24 +0000

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.

By: Josh Glenn

Josh Glenn — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:51:23 +0000

Thanks for mentioning my forthcoming book. I like the comments here! The uncle’s guitar pick is an excellent memento mori.

Hi John K!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:06:10 +0000

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.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:00:21 +0000

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.

By: Rachel*

Rachel* — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:41:02 +0000

Mint tins mainly “Eclipse Mints” tins, and glass bottles. I can’t bear throwing away glass and metal containers that are pretty!

By: Dusty

Dusty — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:29:17 +0000

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.

By: j kelly

j kelly — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:22:06 +0000

i wrote the c walken bagel piece. you should note that it was “served burned” by walken, rather than just cooked.

By: B.N.

B.N. — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:11:51 +0000

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.

By: b.g.

b.g. — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:29:08 +0000

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.