Wrote By Rote: Hidden treasure

A to Z Theme 2016

For my 2016 A to Z theme I used a meme that I ran across on the blog of Bridget Straub who first saw it on the blog of Paula Acton. This meme is a natural for me to use on my memoir blog. It's an A to Z concept and it's about me. No research and nothing complicated. I'm given twenty six questions or topics to discuss that are about me.
In April I kept my posts short and uncomplicated. In the midst of it all you might learn a few things about me that you didn't previously know.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

X (Elements of Memoir) #AtoZChallenge

The memoir story within you can be like a buried treasure. The riches are there for you to dig up, but first you have to find them. You have the treasure map in your mind and X marks the spot where you need to start excavating. Gather your tools and dig in.

If only it were so easy. Sometimes that map is old and faded. You might even need to piece it back together. The past can be like a complex mystery that you have to solve before you can write down that story treasure.

Perhaps if you're lucky you can assemble your crew of treasure hunters from friends and family members. Your "maps" might include diaries, journals, and assorted reference books. It's rarely a good idea to just wander without having any idea where to look. The closer to X that you can begin, the easier your treasure hunt will be.

Using the life-as-a-journey analogy, we can look back to remember the buried treasures along the route we've traveled. When it's time to dig those treasures back up to tell the memoir story, we need to remember where we've marked each "X" on the map of our mind and start excavating for the riches of our memories. We aren't the pirates of the past, but the adventurer treasure seekers.

How do you have treasured memories "marked" so you'll remember them? What "maps" do you use to find the buried treasures of past memories? How has the journey analogy applied to your own life?

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Hidden Treasures: A Pocket Full of Memories and More

English: A picture illustrating a flap pocket on a grey lounge suit jacket (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over the past couple of months we've looked at all sorts of storage places where items that jog memories can be found. That's been the purpose of this series. Where do we find the inspirations and documentation that can help us to reconstruct the parts of our lives that we want to put into memoir form? Rummaging through those places where we store the artifacts of our lives can be like a treasure hunt sometimes. And sometimes the treasures can be found in odd and unexpected places.

More than once I've heard the story of someone who buys an old coat at the thrift store and discovers money or something valuable in a pocket. I'm sure you've heard those kinds of stories as well. I've never found a true cache of value in the pockets of clothes hanging in my closet, but sometimes I wonder.

I can recall times when I've had considerable amounts of cash that I've hidden in places where I figured no one would find it. Paranoia can set in sometimes and I've done irrational things especially when money was somewhat abundant. I can be absent minded at times. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I've hidden a wad of cash somewhere and have forgotten where I put it. I get these strange feelings sometimes.

Occasionally I'll find some change or maybe a dollar bill in a pocket. No great find there, but these finds fuel my suspicions. I've never gone through all of the clothes in my closets to undertake a grand search for lost treasure, but I'm pretty good about checking pockets if I'm putting my clothes in the laundry basket or giving them away to Goodwill. It's unlikely that anyone would find money stashed in anything I donate.

Now and then I'll find old receipts or something on paper that will bring back a memory of someplace I'd been the last time I wore an article of clothing--typically a coat or jacket. If one has a lot of clothing this is not especially an unusual occurrence. I have a lot more clothing than I ever wear or probably really need so finding things in coat pockets can happen. Maybe I need to check a bunch of pockets and cart a load off to Goodwill?

It's possible that one day I'll find something more interesting than an old receipt in a pocket. In these days when money has been tighter I wouldn't mind finding a roll of bills absent-mindedly stashed in a pocket, a shoe, or some other long unworn wearable. It could happen. I just hope I'm the one who finds the treasure.

Have you ever hidden money or other valuables in pockets of clothes hanging in your closet? Have you ever found valuables in a pocket? Have you used shoes as hiding places?

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