shadow box

I have a shadow box on the wall in my den. It is a small collection of stuff that has accumulated in our lives. It isn’t by any means comprehensive and most of the stuff is from when we were  young, although I have added things in the past few years. It kind of sums up my life.

There is my badge and patch from when I was a cop. Next to it is German money from 1971. Next is a matchbox and train ticket stubs from Germany. The next square holds a Flagship Hotel soap and a soap from the airplane (Saturn Airways – the last of the prop-assisted jet planes) I rode coming back from Germany. Behind it is a couple of patches from Germany.

Beside the badge on the second row is a penny in a bottle. Beside it is a pin from an anniversary of Woodstock.  Next to that is a house carved out of a piece of tree bark.

The next row is a group of Rosenthal cat figures Ella liked. We also got those in Germany.  There is also a ceramic toucan that came from Lord knows where.

The row beneath those has some arrowheads I found and some scarabs from an Egyptian exhibit on Rameses II. Beside both of those rows is a camel carved from olive wood from Israel and a bottle of Japanese Oil, Ella’s dad’s cure-all.

Beneath that row are a knife from Ella’s dad and tie pins I used to wear. Beside that is my senior ring from seminary and a picture of Ella from 1980 that I particularly like. Next to it is another scarab, an onyx turtle, a brass frog and a mashed penny.

On the last row is a nail from an old building and a heart I carved out of a bar of Ivory soap one night while I was on guard duty. It has a peace symbol on one side and JC + EC on the other. Next to it is an old car I have had since I was a child. The last box has another nail, two civil war minie balls and a brass ankh.

It is indeed odd what you keep on your life journey.