Good day everyone!
I recently did some free writing about my thoughts on objects. I think it'll speak for itself, I hope you enjoy!
As I wipe off the desk in my new dorm room, I wonder where the layers of dirt could’ve come from. This desk has been through countless semesters with students of all kinds. What adventures has this desk seen?
I love to give objects a bit of personality. Some of the objects that have been with us for centuries, what have they seen? That Ford Model T still running in 2025, how many owners has it seen now? Five? Six? Seven? Has it stayed in the family or has it been sold many times?
I think this started when I started working at an antique mall. The wear and tear on stuffed animals from the 1960s, often missing an eye or fur. I would walk past them, now locked behind glass, wondering who their child was. Were they dragged everywhere, or did they stay home? When did they become collector’s items? What is so special about this ragged bear to a collector? Did they have one as a child?
This soon applied to more than the Barbies forever stuck in their damaged boxes and diecast cars never to be played with. I would stare at the license plate collection I had bought from the mall and wondered what cars they had been bolted to. The “LINC-MKX” was certainly obvious. But then, maybe not. Maybe it had been on the front of a Chevrolet Suburban, as a joke. And was “VETTE-45” actually on a Corvette? The Corvette wasn’t released until 1953. Was it a racing number? The age the owner got the car? Was it even put on a Corvette? Does “Vette” stand for something different?
And what about the neon beer signs, what bar fights had they overlooked? Had they heard gunshots, seen mugs fly, or heard police sirens? And the old Life Savers display now holding unopened Coca-Cola bottles from 1989, what else has it held? Has it been stolen from?
These objects could have so much life in them. Why not write about them? Mostly writer’s block, at the moment. I would like to write a series of short stories from the point of view of objects, personify them and give them a voice. Now that sounds like a lot of fun, if I can pull it off.
Have a great week everyone,
-Rosetta
Image by Pim Chu
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