On the Value of Souvenirs
I’ve never thought of it before, but souvenirs serve a very valuable purpose: they remind us of the past in a very concrete way. It’s one thing to know that one’s been to Verdun; it’s another to have a spot of mud on one’s coat therefrom. Likewise, the pint glasses I now own from my recently passed beer tour will stand to remind me of the wonderful time I had these past few days. Someday when I’m an old man and my kids surround me using them to drink juice, I’ll see them and think back to these days.
Which makes me feel for both my parents. There was a time that they were 27; there was a time when the world held limitless opportunities, and when every day was a new adventure. It stopped being that for them a long time ago now, and it’s beginning to cease the same for me, these days. It’s awfully hard to think of my father and mother, my age, holding me in their arms—but they did. It’s even more difficult to think of them as human beings who enjoyed having fun with friends—but they did. Someday, hopefully, I’ll have children who will find me as much of a cypher.
