Last night I decided to go through my jewelry box. Boxes, actually. I really don't have much so I don't know why I have two, but I do.
Man, I was amazed by what I found in there.
This all started because I am still having random college moments pop into my head. This one started with a crystal skull I named Harold.
Back in 1990 CC and I road-tripped to the local Ren Fest. I was thinking about how much fun we had and how I bought a small crystal skull on a chain. I named him Harold because every other skull was already named Yorik. That crystal skull has been hanging from the rear-view mirror of the last three cars I have owned (including my current car). For years it was paired with some worn wooden beads on twine a friend had given me. And then I remembered that RFFF gave me those beads. Not long after I met RFFF I think I traded him a Grateful Dead necklace (something I had gotten from some other guy the year before) for the wooden beads. Or something like that. And then I remembered that RFFF went with CC and me to the Ren Fest. That brought back even more memories, like how I have wanted a Ferdinand the Bull tattoo for twenty years--and that idea came out of a conversation CC, RFFF, and I had after our roadtrip. I still want that tattoo, dammit.
I know, this all sounds so effortlessly tied together now, but believe me, it has taken a couple of months for me to piece together these memories in my brain.
Anyway, the wooden beads hanging from my rear-view mirror broke off a couple years ago. Actually, I don't think they made it to my current car. I meant to tie them back together since having them there seemed like tradition, but I never did. After I saw RFFF, I was thinking about those beads and wondered if I still had them. The only place I could think to look was my jewelry box.
They weren't there. My guess is that I pitched them because they were tied to a part of my life so-long forgotten I figured I wouldn't miss them. And now I kind of do.
But what did I find? More damn crazy flashbacks tangled in a mass of cheap jewelry. Bracelets made for me by high school friends. A necklace my friend Jason made for me in jewelry class during our senior year of high school. A necklace I bought in Germany. A beaded necklace another college friend made me... she made them for all of us for birthdays or graduation or something. A velcro bracelet that said "Bob." That involves a story way too long and complicated to explain. My zippo lighter inscribed with my college nickname. Which made me think about the lighter my two roommates and I bought my other roommate that was inscribed, "From Your loving husbands and wives." Another story too long to explain (and I'm not sure I could) but still one of my favorite gifts ever.
Oh, and the invitation to the wedding of two friends in 1995. One of them was the roommate we bought the Zippo for. Let me tell you, I still think I consumed more alcohol that weekend than any other weekend of my life. They were living in Arkansas at the time and the whole weekend I kept making smart-ass comments about how we were going to get the Yankee beat out of us because I kept pronouncing Arkansas "Are-Kansas." Ironic now, but, man, it was hilarious then. I also had a stopover in the Memphis airport on the trip down. I didn't have to get off the plane, but I did just so I could say I had set foot in Memphis. Little did I know that that ten years later that airport would feel like my second home.
Thing is, I had forgotten any of this existed. I got rid of so much stuff before I moved here. I was tired of lugging it around. Like the little wooden beads, it was tied to a part of my life I thought was long gone, done, and closed away. And now it's back. Do I miss the stuff I got rid of? No. But I'm glad I never opened the jewelry box so that I could have the chance to untangle the mass of cheap beads, strings, and chains that represent my formative years.
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