Eat at Moe's

In my parents' house, there is an enormous bowl filled with matchbooks. Hundreds and hundreds of books. This was my grandmother's collection, and my dad got it when she passed away. When I was little, I used to love to sort through them and see where they came from. I learned so much about my grandparents' travels from reading these. "The Four Seasons" one might say, "Howard Johnson's" reads another. It was also a way of commemorating the momentous social events of their life, because back in the day before flower seeds or painted mugs, matchbooks were THE event souvenier of choice. "Robert and Ellen, August 1, 1957", "Jefferson High Sr. Prom", "Eric's Bar Mitzvah"...you get the idea.

I get the same kind of a feeling, nowadays, when I come across the many customized pens we have collected. Many of our past employers still hold a place in our pen jar, if not in our hearts ;-) "Paul's Bicycle Way of Life", "CognitiveArts", "Simmons College"... memories of past vacations are evoked when I come across those bearing the names "The Red Jacket Inn" or "The Hyatt Chesapeake Bay". Sure, the random "Bank of America" or "Citgo Service Station" pen makes a meaningless appearance, but overall, I do still get a kick out of recalling places gone, meals eaten, jobs had and so on each time I grab a pen and go to write something.