Magnet Shape Choice

In our free country, we are lucky to have the freedom of choice. This freedom extends to the choosing of magnet shapes. Some Communist was trying to take away that freedom by forcing (albeit politely) the recipient of this note to take the round one. However, this country is still so great that the note-getter was able to choose a magnet shape of his heart's desire for the first one, I presume. This is a Post-It I found stuck to the stairs leading to the Outbound Red Line in Downtown Crossing T station today.

No Birds

We re-arranged the display fixtures in the store where I work yesterday. One of my co-workers found this picture underneath one of the fixtures we moved. It's written in black ballpoint pen on cash register tape. Nobody could figure out who the artist is, or what he or she has against birds.

Flakiness is Everywhere!

I was really psyched when I found this purple Post-It note stuck to the sidewalk in Downtown Crossing the other day. I had written a similar note the night before (even in black Sharpie!) and stuck it to my door where I would be sure to see it every morning on my way out of the house. I hope the writer of this note remembered his or her necessities that morning!

Beacon Drain Clogged

Is this a note a helpful landlord scribbled to remember which tenants needed a repairman? Is it a note designed to warn fellow Jehovah's Witnesses of perils in their door-to-door rounds? We may never know. Found on the sidewalk near Porter Square in Cambridge a few weeks ago.

Deconstruction Zone

This is a recent find; I picked it up outside Bruegger's Bagels across from the Porter Square T stop last week. Finding this is what prompted me to get off my butt and start this blog!

This poem was written on the back of a blank invoice form from ColorWorks Painting and Decorating stores that was haphazardly folded into quarters. The author seems to dislike apostrophes.

The text is as follows:

DECONSTRUCTION ZONE

THE TOLLS I PAY
Stay in the lines
theyre not people
theyre just traffic
I dont know
Ill just go

Ill leave halfway
through so the ending
doesnt ruin it for me

Trash Picking is Number 1!

I found this number one on the sidewalk in Ithaca, NY a number of years ago. I had incorporated it in a mobile, but it has long since fallen apart. I'm still looking for something cool to do with this small red one.

Rusty Metal bolt

I like rusty metal things. I found this in Allston, where one usually finds broken beer bottles and syringes and the like. I have no idea what it is from; maybe from the train yard? I found it by the train yard in Lower Allston. You are probably not very excited by this bolt, but I like it a lot.

Swimming Medal

I found this swimming medal on the ground when I was in elementary school. I kept it in my "treasure box" with other things that could double as either pirate booty, hidden chests of riches belonging to rightful kings of the land, or other imaginary worlds that have need for lost treasure. I liked the laurel wreath on the back; it looked very Greek and stately to me.

Life is Simple

Orlando Castillo wrote this touching letter to someone who discarded on the sidewalk in Allston. Although she (I presume it's a she, but you never know) didn't "burn it" as the letter instructed, she obviously didn't find this heartfelt confession from a Dartmouth Alum as touching as I did, even though he has a propensity to drive while drunk. I only have pages 3 and 5, I can only guess what the rest of the letter said.

Look, medieval coffin nails!

In Ireland, graveyards were often used over and over, people being buried on top of each other without rhyme or reason. This was the case in one little churchyard in Kinfenora, Co. Clare. There had been a recent burial, and the archaeologist who was leading my group around stooped down to examine the freshly dug dirt. "Look, medieval coffin nails!" he said, and held one up. I kept 2 as a souvenir. The chunks at the top of this picture once looked like the bottom nail; in the 9 years I've had these, they have crumbled to bits.

End of the Christmas Party

There are only a few revelers left at this Christmas Party, and drunkenness is probably what's inspiring the last few stragglers to sing karaoke... Judging from the look on the one dude's face, singing probably isn't this person's main talent. The photographer who captured this moment wasn't the only one; I wonder what the lady with the white hat's picture looks like? Also, I like the 3 Stooges poster in the background. I found this picture on Brighton Ave. in Allston one night in January 2007.

Andy is a Safe Driver. Unfortunately, he is also a forgetful driver. So forgetful in fact, he managed to lose his name tag in the snow somewhere in Oswego, NY in the winter of 1994/1995. Hell, it could have been spring or autumn-- Oswego gets snow pretty much 8 months out of the year.

I always hoped that Andy was a Manager In Training or some other such thing, and not that he had gone to MIT and this was now his reward.

Allston Squiggle

This Polaroid was on the sidewalk in Allston sometime in 2006. I can't tell what the picture is supposed to be of, but I really like the light squiggles and the way it came out.

Croagh Patrick Rock

Croagh Patrick is Ireland's holy mountain. It is said that St. Patrick fasted for 40 days on its summit, and that it was from there that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. For millennia, pilgrims have climbed this mountain, often with barefeet, or on their knees (these practices are discouraged, though).

I found this rock on one trip climbing the mountain (climb is an extreme word, it's more like a brisk upward hike). You can't tell too well from the picture, but it has a cross on it where two veins of quartz (?) intersect at right angles. You can only see the cross when this stone is wet. As I was descending the mountain, it had begun to sprinkle, and I noticed this stone.

I'm probably the least religious person on the planet, though I do have a healthy amount of superstition. I've kept this as my lucky rock ever since I found it (in the mid-90s sometime).

Redhead with Nosering

I can't remember where I found this Polaroid; I think it was in Medford. It's very blurry, but the girl pictured seems really contemplative. Is it even a girl? Now that I'm looking at it, it could be a boy...

Headless Action Figures

Last year I walked or rode my bike to work every day the same way. The walk took me past a church that is known for youth outreach programs. They have punk shows in the basement and festivals for all sorts of diverse peoples I didn't even know had a significant presence in Allston (like the recent Hmong Weekend). On two separate occasions, a few months apart I found these headless toys. I thought the genie guy was Jafaar from Disney's Aladdin, but a co-worker corrected me; it's a Yu-Gi-Oh guy. I'm not sure who the dog is.

Someone on that street must enjoy ripping the heads off action figures!

Girls on Vacation

My roommate found these pictures of this little girl and her friend. I'm not sure where the picture is taken, or what exactly is going on. The two girls look like they're having lots of fun, though!

Army Surplus earring

I just found this; I had no idea that I still had it. I found it in the pocket of a jacket I bought at an army surplus store when I was about 15 (ca. 1987). It just turned up again in the bottom of my hardware drawer. Go figure! The jacket is long gone, but the earring remains.

I was always intrigued by this really ugly, cheap earring. The "diamonds" are really bad imitations in plastic, and the gold colored sheen on the metal was wearing off in many places. Was it part of a pair that a soldier bought for his wife/girlfriend? Was it leftover from a night on the town? Was it the incriminating evidence from a cross-dresser?

Trash, Trash, Trash!

I have a habit of picking shit off the street. Here is the continuing saga all the crap I've found over the years ...