virtual memorials for inanimate objects
Monday, November 10, 2008
Baby Cradle
I do not know how I lost it. We moved everything out of the unit and into our new house but somehow this gargantuan antique cradle did not make it. Since then, I have also lost a set of keys and 3 large photo albums at my mom's house, my grandma's wedding set and my class ring which I last saw about a year ago.
Last seen in a storage unit in 2005.
Sara Frazier, Elko, NV ¶ 9:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
I do not know how I lost it. We moved everything out of the unit and into our new house but somehow this gargantuan antique cradle did not make it. Since then, I have also lost a set of keys and 3 large photo albums at my mom's house, my grandma's wedding set and my class ring which I last saw about a year ago.
Last seen in a storage unit in 2005.
Sara Frazier, Elko, NV ¶ 9:13 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Blue Bird Brooch
When my father's paternal grandmother passed away, each of her great-grandchildren (there were 5 of us at the time) received a gift bought with money "from" her. I don't know what my two male cousins got, but my brother was given a dog clock (with moving eyes), my sister received a necklace (as far as Mum can remember), and I was given (supposedly, as I was very young and have no recollection of the said item) a name-bar brooch with a blue bird on it. I do not even know if it was engraved. I can only suppose it may have been lost when we moved shortly after I turned 4.
Last seen (but not by me!) 1966-69 (at a rough guess), between Bayswater and East Kew, Victoria.
Judith Martin, Victoria, Australia
When my father's paternal grandmother passed away, each of her great-grandchildren (there were 5 of us at the time) received a gift bought with money "from" her. I don't know what my two male cousins got, but my brother was given a dog clock (with moving eyes), my sister received a necklace (as far as Mum can remember), and I was given (supposedly, as I was very young and have no recollection of the said item) a name-bar brooch with a blue bird on it. I do not even know if it was engraved. I can only suppose it may have been lost when we moved shortly after I turned 4.
Last seen (but not by me!) 1966-69 (at a rough guess), between Bayswater and East Kew, Victoria.
Judith Martin, Victoria, Australia
Labels: Australia, childhood, family, loss, move
¶ 12:12 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Several Fine Cotton Lace Doilies, Runners, etc.
I had been married to a very abusive man. In desperation to get away from his abuse, I accepted a job miles away, whereupon I began to realize he was terribly abusive. I decided to divorce him, and though I'd trusted him with my belongings, I returned to NY, shocked to find he'd carelessly tossed everything I owned into two outdoor storage sheds. Most of it was damaged beyond repair.
Amongst the devastation of losing so many irreplaceable things, such as knitting patterns which are now long out of print, no matter how hard I searched, I never found my doilies and runners. These doilies and runners had been gifts from my Grandma to me. She'd crocheted them long before I was born, and when I'd complimented her gorgeous work, she took them right off of her furniture and gave them to me. Just like that. I'm not a doily/runner person, but I cherished this beautiful, fine work, wrought by my loving Grandma's patient hands, and planned to someday display these pieces in my home.
I never got the chance. To this day, I have no idea where they went. My wonderful Grandma is no longer with us, so I can't ask her to make anything else for me. And I can't buy something from a garage sale - no other doilies or runners would be the same, anyway.
Last seen in Peekskill, NY, 1992
Melanie, Illinois
I had been married to a very abusive man. In desperation to get away from his abuse, I accepted a job miles away, whereupon I began to realize he was terribly abusive. I decided to divorce him, and though I'd trusted him with my belongings, I returned to NY, shocked to find he'd carelessly tossed everything I owned into two outdoor storage sheds. Most of it was damaged beyond repair.
Amongst the devastation of losing so many irreplaceable things, such as knitting patterns which are now long out of print, no matter how hard I searched, I never found my doilies and runners. These doilies and runners had been gifts from my Grandma to me. She'd crocheted them long before I was born, and when I'd complimented her gorgeous work, she took them right off of her furniture and gave them to me. Just like that. I'm not a doily/runner person, but I cherished this beautiful, fine work, wrought by my loving Grandma's patient hands, and planned to someday display these pieces in my home.
I never got the chance. To this day, I have no idea where they went. My wonderful Grandma is no longer with us, so I can't ask her to make anything else for me. And I can't buy something from a garage sale - no other doilies or runners would be the same, anyway.
Last seen in Peekskill, NY, 1992
Melanie, Illinois
Labels: craft, family, move, relationships, separation
¶ 11:05 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Briefcase
When I graduated from college, my grandfather insisted I have a briefcase. His gift was incredibly sweet and thoughtful but I never had much use for a briefcase, especially such a traditional style. I kept the briefcase for a few years, but when I was getting ready to move from California to Boston, the briefcase joined the garage-sized pile of other objects I had to trash, sell, or give away. The briefcase was donated, among many other things, to the Salvation Army, where I hoped it would make its way to someone who would actually have use for it. That was almost two years ago. My grandfather died recently and all I can think about is that briefcase.
I'm interested in the irrational affection we feel towards inanimate objects as well as the narrative and meaning that get attached to this otherwise mundane stuff over time, thanks to who we got the object from, or who we were with when we purchased or found it, what our life was like at the time, what it's like now, and where we've been in between, all of which is carried on in the object, regardless of whether it still exists or not. Creating a virtual memorial for my lost briefcase is the least I can do to honor my grandfather's gift, while, to some extent, confessing my guilt over getting rid of it.
Last seen August, 2005, in Oakland, California
Becky writes from Boston, where she spends a lot of time mulling over the way we deal with memory, loss, technology, and community.
When I graduated from college, my grandfather insisted I have a briefcase. His gift was incredibly sweet and thoughtful but I never had much use for a briefcase, especially such a traditional style. I kept the briefcase for a few years, but when I was getting ready to move from California to Boston, the briefcase joined the garage-sized pile of other objects I had to trash, sell, or give away. The briefcase was donated, among many other things, to the Salvation Army, where I hoped it would make its way to someone who would actually have use for it. That was almost two years ago. My grandfather died recently and all I can think about is that briefcase.
I'm interested in the irrational affection we feel towards inanimate objects as well as the narrative and meaning that get attached to this otherwise mundane stuff over time, thanks to who we got the object from, or who we were with when we purchased or found it, what our life was like at the time, what it's like now, and where we've been in between, all of which is carried on in the object, regardless of whether it still exists or not. Creating a virtual memorial for my lost briefcase is the least I can do to honor my grandfather's gift, while, to some extent, confessing my guilt over getting rid of it.
Last seen August, 2005, in Oakland, California
Becky writes from Boston, where she spends a lot of time mulling over the way we deal with memory, loss, technology, and community.
Labels: briefcase, California, gift, grandfather, loss, move, Oakland
¶ 3:44 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
