The unusually important things

 

Wife is sorting some scrapbook stuff today. Opening some boxes and attempting to wade through what has been about fifteen to twenty years of collecting materials in a huge bin with the good intentions of addressing them later.

I happen to be, in some ways, a bit of a family historian. Not just for me, but family and friends and events and more. I take pictures, keep ticket stubs, purchase souvenir programs, grab business cards and flyers, and just in general pick up anything collectible or memorable from wherever we’re at and whatever we’re doing.

The end result is a lot of albums and binders featuring photographs and park maps and stickers and postcards and flattened pennies and wrist bands. They also contain A LOT of memories.

I don’t consider myself a historian though. In ways, more of a caretaker. I hold the keys to opening a whirlwind of thoughts for many people, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. Neither does Terry.

Want proof? Ok.

My grandfather was overseas, World War II, when my mother was born. A telegram was sent to him. I have that telegram in my house. And that is a bit more than history. That’s a family treasure.

Today, Terry was going through some boxes and she stumbled upon a few unexpected tidbits. My grandparents bought their home new. First owners. My grandfather was involved in the building of the house. Started after he returned home following the war. Worked on it with one of his brothers.

They ended up with the blueprints to the house. Terry found the blueprints, a black and white photograph of the house, and a copy of the mortgage note. (Meme and Pepe paid $42.42 each month on the mortgage of their new home.)

Terry also discovered a newspaper clipping. A picture of my mother, with the wedding announcement of my parents. I’m going to hope my parents aren’t upset when I share that the happy couple has spent more than fifty years together.

Take a look around your house, or simply give the idea some thought. I’d like you to consider any items that would be cherished keepsakes for you that others might not place the same significance upon.

Chances are good that blueprints for a house in Rhode Island don’t have the same value for you that they have for me. As far as I can tell, the house has been sold twice in thirty years. Perhaps one of those two owners might be interested in them, but since my grandparents lived there for over forty years with a significant investment of sweat equity, I’m just going to take a massive risk here and say it might not be as important to other owners as it is to my family. After that, unless the city suddenly determines there to be a major reason for celebrating the address, or some involvement from the company that constructed it, I don’t know if many people would be all that interested.

The blueprints and the mortgage deed are a treasure to my family. Not much value to yours. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Did you find anything? Some item or two that have real worth to you that others just might not find as amazing. I hope so.

Hidden treasures. They absolutely exist.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com