6 July 2004
Lost and Found
I love finding intimate notes discarded in public places. It's a little depressing, yet fascinating. This is a little 4-inch square canvas piece that someone had propped up on a ledge on the front of our building. A small photograph is pasted in the middle, a scene of a man and a dog on the beach, happy. The whole thing is washed over in orange watercolor paint, and on the paint someone has written with a fountain pen. I did my best to decipher the handwriting:
Maui little beach Trevor eye contact you rescued me from boredom and since then you have been nothing but good to me. I will always appreciate that about you. You are so not selfish and when I think you can do no more you surprise me somehow. I hope to do the same for you. This whole thing is an experiment for me, just like the time I spent with you. I had an idea and then I began to do it. A lot of this is free flow. I had no idea what I was going to write. Just know that you (and Trevor) have a special place in my heart. Merry xmas 2001. May our friendship continue to grow. Always, Kiet.
I suppose that Trevor might be the dog. It's a remarkably thoughtful gift, if a little shoddy and rambling. If it's true that it's the thought that counts, then there's no harm in discarding this gift once the loving thought has done its good work. Still, it's poignant to find such a special gift abandoned on the sidewalk, destined for oblivion. I feel a little sorry for it. I often feel sorry for inanimate objects!