It started when I was young; I loved collecting what others considered worthy of discarding. My mother would tell the story of me, at age four, causing trouble in pre-school hoarding random items from the playground in my coat or pant pockets. I would come home daily with bits of small shiny wrapper scraps, a colorful cap from an unknown bottle, or various other untold objects; all with the idea of turning it into something or treasuring it for what it could become. This was highly frowned upon by all.
Despite the early discouragement, my collecting has not stopped. The little bits of this and that in my opinion are still not necessarily trash. I cannot go most places without finding something worth picking up as a found treasure. When out on nature walks with my boys, small pebbles, brightly colored fallen leaves or a smoothed piece of drift wood are sure to make their way home with us. Worn bits of sea glass from a Cape Cod beach or uniquely marked pottery shards long ago discarded in the Hoosic River, I am fascinated by the stories they could tell.
A most intriguing recent find was a shard of Depression Era Vaseline glass. I spotted the out-of-place glowing green fragment in the water amongst the common colored rocks. As I reached my hand to carefully retrieve my find, I imagined its former life as a common place delicate footed dessert dish. What homemade delicacy could have filled its graceful curves? I envisioned the Berkshire hostess presenting a delicious serving of strawberry shortcake complimented by local farm fresh, white whipped cream. Yum! What occurred in its household history for its fate to end up as a broken shard in the cold flowing, Hoosic River? The preceding possibilities were innumerous… “Hurry up, would you?” called out my husband to me. “We’ve got to get going,” he finished. With that, I shoved the beautiful found treasure into my pant pocket.
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