Lost Earring
In the midst of all of our comings and goings over the past two weeks, a lone earring showed up on the table by our front door. I imagine it was placed there by someone who picked it up – either on the porch or near the entry gate. It’s sort of a fancy earring – the kind that might be worn to a party and it looks as though it has been stepped on – the lever-back part looks a little smooshed, but the earring itself is unharmed.
I brought it inside and put it on our hall table – the place where we put the outgoing mail, the books to return to the library, and any lost-and-found items that show up. Over the years, there have been many. Dishes and utensils left here after pot-luck suppers. Reading glasses and keys and Bibles and jackets, left over at the church and brought here by a concerned visitor.
Once in a rare while, these articles are claimed. But mostly the wait patiently for their owner to remember or to inquire. Eventually, we move them from our hall table to our ‘back forty’ storage area adjacent to the garage. I’d like to say that the Lost and Found Department has its very own section – or at least a shelf of its own – but that would come under another ‘department’ – the Wishful Thinking Department.’
For a while we remember how particular objects happened to arrive but, eventually, they begin to blend in with all the other accumulation of three generations of ‘artifacts.’ Some, like particularly useful and attractive dishes, actually get used. Not that I don’t remember that they aren’t mine. In fact, I’m ever hopeful that someone will say, “I used to have a bowl just like that.” But, so far, that hasn’t happened.
Lost Reading Glasses
I wonder if people would be more attentive about their belongings if we instigated a ‘storage fee’ and posted signs at the church or on our porch. I also wonder how many things I’ve left in how many places over my lifetime. Too, it occurs to me that the one thing that we’ve never found, nor has anyone turned in, is money – cold hard cash. Not even a credit card. So, don’t even bother to ask!
This is a fun thing. I feel like I have populated the world with lost baseball caps and dollar store reading glasses. I hope they have found good homes or at least interesting venues.