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Right now we are in life limbo. To make ends meet for our family, Ironman has been going to local auctions and re-selling items on ebay. A few weeks ago, he came home with a medium sized box filled with boyhood treasures from one single individual from years gone by. The "boy" had written his name on nearly every precious piece. They were his TREASURES... his STORY PIECES, and it moved my heart so, that I just had to let the sentiment spill into words.
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"STORY PIECES"
In my hands I hold story pieces...
belonging to an elderly
man I never knew.
The truth and sentiment of this has gripped my
heart in a way unexpected. The story pieces I hold include an old farm game, a cardboard
box filled with tattered old crayons from his second grade year- which his
mother lovingly decorated his name on the top, a pencil box from later years
filled with pens and pencils- his name then neatly scrolled in his own cursive
penmanship… and a child's play shaving kit.
It was the old shaving kit that did it. It gripped my heart and caused me to fight
back tears.
STORY PIECES.
Perhaps, it's because I can so easily envision my own six
year old son playing wholeheartedly with a miniature bar of soap, and a tiny
tube of real toothpaste. Maybe I wonder
what this old-man-young was like. One
day, not really so very long ago, he stood in front of a mirror, lathered up
his face with the mini bristly shave brush and carved off cream in streaks with
his plastic razor. He combed his hair
with the comb, and dabbed on aftershave from the mini sized vial. I'm sure his mother kissed his "clean
shaven" fresh smelling face all over. Little Jerry Lee used up every bit
of this shaving kit. Still, he saved it.
STORY PIECES.
Each item used up.
Each item saved. A broken
comb. Toothbrush. Toothpaste.
Three teeny tiny glass jars of aftershave and cologne. Mini shave brushes and a bar of soap. Cardboard razors to fit in the plastic razor
head. Little Jerry Lee even cut out and
colored a few cardboard razor blades of his own. Perhaps he used the crayons from his second
grade crayon box- the one which his mother so lovingly put his name.
STORY PIECES.
Story pieces that Jerry Lee saved for 60 years. Story pieces that meant something to him. Story pieces that now mean something to
me. Someone, somewhere named Jerry Lee
Myers cared enough to neatly save and preserve a few pieces from his
childhood. These were more than "things"
to him. He was saving memories,
feelings, warmth, security, love, a piece of home. Jerry Lee had a tender heart to want to save
a precious few treasures, pieces from his childhood, pieces from his
beginnings, pieces that founded the man he was.
STORY PIECES.
