I find something endearingly hopeful about the found objects that strangers leave for their rightful owners, whether they be a pair of glasses, a toy crab, or a grimy pacifier. We’ve all had the experience of losing something dear to us, and some of us, no doubt, have tried to calm a screaming toddler who will not be comforted by anything other than her or his favorite stuffed toy or blanket.
While I was in Ohio last weekend, I lost my Boston Red Sox cap after having put it on top of my car while I was loading Reggie into “his” backseat for a nearby outing. My parents’ Columbus neighborhood is highly urban, so I knew someone would find and pick up a nice, nearly-new ball cap…but still, I re-traced my route just in case someone who wasn’t particularly attached to the Sox might have found my cap and then stuck it atop a fire hydrant or bus-stop bench. Unfortunately, “finders keepers” applies in the case of nearly-new ball caps.
On a walk through Brookline, Massachusetts this afternoon, it was cheering to think that some distraught toddler with a tired parent in tow might re-trace her or his steps to find a beloved but lost stuffed animal lovingly set out for them by a stranger. How much more perfect, I thought, that Blue Octie is faithfully waiting, hopeful, outside a house of worship. Isn’t a lost toy set out by a kind stranger an apt metaphor for the God of All Things Lost who patiently waits to be found by any passerby?
Aug 19, 2007 at 8:45 pm
You know, I really appreciate your unique diligence in cross-referencing your own posts – it really added some resonance here. Now with multiple tagging here at WP.com, I guess it’s a bit easier for you. I remember linking to related posts for the first four months or so that I was blogging, but then I got lazy and slacked off.
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Aug 20, 2007 at 6:01 am
Not just any blue octie, but a smiling blue octie!
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Aug 20, 2007 at 9:42 am
I do hope his family finds its way back to Octie! What a cutie! And he’s waiting very patiently.
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Aug 20, 2007 at 10:33 am
what’s really funny to me is that there is an octopus (very very NOT kosher) in front of what would appear to be a VERY Orthodox synagogue 🙂
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Aug 20, 2007 at 11:43 am
I once found a stuffed sea turtle, left by a child, sitting on the top of the touch tank at an aquarium I worked at. The turtle now resides at the top of the passenger sunvisor and is a little companion as I drive around.
Found your blog via Moleskinerie.com 🙂 Very nice!
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Aug 21, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Misti, I’m hoping that if Blue Octie’s rightful owner(s) doesn’t claim him, some other good home will.
Zenchick, this is a very Orthodox synagogue. And for a non-kosher animal, a very Orthodox synagogue would probably be a very safe hideout since there’d be little risk of getting eaten!
Dave, my diligent cross-referencing is an outgrowth of my lit scholar habits. How can you possibly understand a text outside of its larger context? If I were to edit an online version of, say, Thoreau’s journals, I’d want cross-references so that one mention of X would take me to other mentions, too.
I’m mindful, too, that many folks arrive at HO via search engines, without any context for their visit. So although I’m sure few people take the time to follow cross-referenced links, it makes me feel like a better hostess to provide them just in case.
And lastly, I have a naturally “connective” mind. Whenever I blog item X, I’m thinking about the various times I’ve blogged similar (or contradictory!) things. So the cross-references are for my own benefit, too: occasionally I like to remind myself of how often I repeat myself…
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Aug 24, 2007 at 6:10 pm
I love found things. That’s one of my favorite things to look for in a photowalk.
Do you ever read Found Magazine?
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Aug 28, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I love this post.
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