Saturday, June 10, 2006

Sunday Scribblings: Mystery

I want to know where all the things I've lost over the years have ended up. The destiny of things misplaced or stolen or cast away is a mystery that I love to contemplate.

The gold hoop earring that came unhooked as I walked down the street in Rio - was it picked up by a street kid, crushed under the shoe of a passing businessman, or perhaps carelessly swept into the sewer?

The plum colored tank top and pair of black pants that disappeared from the clothes line back in Chimoio - did the maid steal them to sell at the bazaar, and if so who was the buyer and where are my clothes now?

The flip-flop that fell off my foot as I boulder hopped across a river in Brazil - did it get swept by the rapids all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, did an ecologically conscious hiker spot the colored rubber and take my sandal out of the rainforest, or did it wash up on one of the banks and become buried in thick mud?

I'd love to satisfy these curiosities...

17 comments:

paris parfait said...

Clever post, Ali. Quite a few missing items I wonder about as well - it's the lot of the nomadic life. :)

kanuthya said...

For that reason exactly - the wonderful wondering you mention - one of the projects I've been working on is to be called A Voz das Coisas. I finally decided to comment here, since I have been visiting you for some time, and because I left no feedback on how much I enjoy your writing, I was begining to feel a bit of a voyeur :)

Madeleine said...

The biggest mystery of all sometimes. I think there is a parallel world where all the lost items go :)

Laini Taylor said...

It's fun to imagine the lives of inanimate objects. I loved the book Accordian Crimes, that traced the long and bizarre life of an accordian through many owners, and the movie The Red Violin, same thing.

Annie Jeffries said...

So down to earth. Love this. I would like to know where my 1955 T-Bird ended up. I never should have sold that car. But what did I know? I was 21 and dumb as a rock.

Mimey said...

I lost one, and then the other flip flop in the Atlantic one time. I was quite devastated, and didn't know how to even think about moving on, and then the tide washed them back to me, and I learned a lesson about taknig care of my stuff, even if it only cost pennies.

I think the secret life of inanimate objects is fascinating. A charming post.

Left-handed Trees... said...

This post shows the depth and interesting mystery of your experiences. Your adventures are so amazing...these lost objects taking on a life of their own.

Safiya Outlines said...

I read a story once, in it there was another world where everyone had a little room full of everything they had ever lost.

Here's an odd question for you: have you ever lost any feelings or parts of your personality?

Anonymous said...

I loved this. It's got me wondering whats happened to all the stuff I've lost or had stolen from me over the years now!

sara said...

It just goes to show that everything has a story, if you're willing to invest a little time and imagination.

I agree with paris parfait's comment -- it's the lot of the nomadic life. I'm constantly sifting through my things, coming up empty-handed whilst looking for something I knew I had once. Is it in storage? Is it at my parent's house? Did it get mixed in with an op-shop donation bag?

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be great if there were a detective agency that specialized in solving these little personal mysteries that mean so much? I know I would have a few cases I'd like them to take on!
Great post!

Anonymous said...

Why is it that you only see one shoe by the side of the road? Where's the other one?
Dad

lisrobbe said...

This post brought back memories of all the times I came home form school as a kid with my mother questiong me on where I lost something. Love reading your blog.

Rebekah said...

This post sends memory dancing through the years, wondering, wondering...

Alina said...

Comming to think of it, this would be an interesting issue to think about! See the path the objects you've lost took. I would especially want to know what happened to a certain gold medalion, the first one I bought from my savings when I was about 12...It fell from my necklace and I looked for it for hours, then cried for two days. Should I also say I bought it from the bus tickets money I never spent? :D

Alina said...

Ali, I suppose you are quite busy or travelling again. In any case, all the best and hope to find new posts of yours soon! :)

Ali Ambrosio said...

~Kanuthya - welcome and thanks for reading! I'd love to hear more about A Voz das Coisas, sounds like a really interesting project.

~Annieelf - wonder if I'll ever feel that way about my 1999 Saturn sedan with no power steering and no power windows? Hmmm...think not. Sometimes I wish I'd been the owner of a sweet car back in the days I owned a vehicle.

~JVS - how lucky for you that the tide swept your sandals back to shore. I had to go barefoot for a week one time when I lost a pair of flip-flops to the Atlantic, again off the coast of Brazil. Seems flip-flops and water aren't such a great combination for me.

~Safiya - what an interesting question. I feel I have lost a bit of my sense of excitement and wonder over the years. Traveling and the bumps that come along with a nomadic life have made me pretty jaded, something that I am trying to overcome.

I also lost, after a crisis a couple of years ago, several aspects of my personality - spontaneity, the ability to trust easily, the freedom to flirt and be charming, my independent spirit. Luckly I made it through to the other side of the bad times and have recuperated all of the aspects of my personality that I want back.

~Telfair - definitely part of the nomadic lifestyle!

~Lisrobbe - thanks for reading!

~Alina - what a sad story, especially for a young girl. Maybe you can hire the detective agency Tinker has dreamt up and find your lost treasure.