Years ago my wife bought an old "printers tray" that once held individual pieces of lead type, used when they were "set" as separate characters in a layout before being printed (say) as a newspaper. She got the tray because at the time many people were using them to hold small mementoes that might be displayed on a wall. The above photo is the largest we have, and it's hanging in our kitchen. It holds many things from our past, that remind us daily of lots of our favorite things.
Our high school class rings are there, as are Girl Scout rings worn by our daughters. The Vietnam War MIA bracelet given to me by a POW that was held captive for six years is there. The cork from a $100 bottle of champagne my wife bought to celebrate my promotion to Colonel is there, as are many items we collected while assigned to West Germany.
The ones usually getting the most attention from visitors are the Nazi-cookie cutter she found in West Germany, and the USSR Army officer's belt buckle she got on a trip she took with several of her "lady friends" to the Soviet Union. There are teeth from a wolf and a moose I found half buried in Canada. And, some of my favorites, decorative lapel pins that designate the wearer as a graduate of an AFRC week-long ski school in West Germany. We still add things to the box when we find something appropriate, and you can see that by the line of stuff on top. The small plastic M16 rifle I found laying on the ground at a tourist site in North Carolina.
We never get tired of looking at the box, and I suppose that's the main reason why we started it in the first place. Our oldest (21) granddaughter has already announced she gets it when we're gone. So, our past will live on through her, and that's good.
