No. 12 of 50 — Significant Objects v3
[This is the first installment in a four-part story by the members of Kasper Hauser. The auction for this object, with story by Rob Baedeker, has ended. Original price: $2.00. Final price: $15.50. Significant Objects will donate the proceeds of this auction to Girls Write Now.]
One night I looked at my saggy old beanbag, a sad black lump just lying on my living room floor like one of Bigfoot’s breasts.
That beanbag represented the old me.
I wear a Leatherman on my belt, and I gashed into that beanbag and didn’t stop sawing till I had a two-foot piece of leatherette.
That night I found a guy named LeatheretteBrad844@aol.com on the Internet who said he could do what I was looking for — make a pencil case with the texture of caiman (which is basically just a miniature alligator).
A lot of people choose alligator skin for their boots and cases, etc., but I chose the caiman to symbolize the conquering of a personal demon, but a demon of manageable size — to me, the idea that you could vanquish a full-on alligator is delusional. Start by wrestling the little guys. After you conquer your caimans, you can set your sites on the alligators.
I’m speaking symbolically, but I also used to work as a zookeeper, so I am actually pretty familiar with these kinds of reptiles/amphibians.
Now, I am hopping over the fence into the mind-work side of things — going back to finish my degree, with hopes of someday designing my own zoo or aquarium.
There are five pencils in the box. That’s my lucky number. I keep them unsharpened as a reminder of possibilities.
Tomorrow: Part Two: Gaucho Tray.
The significance of this object has been invented by the author; see the project description for details. Click here to receive email updates.
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[...] Pencil Case + Rob Baedeker Story starts things off, and if you read that you’ll discover there are links at the bottom of each installment that will lead you to the next. Part two is Gaucho Tray + James Reichmuth Story, followed by Bronco Toy + Dan Klein Story, and concluding with “Brass” Pitcher + John Reichmuth Story. I love the way the pieces work together, and I really think they benefit from being read sequentially — to me, they’ve gotten better on each read-through. And I have to say, this kind of crazy, “can it be done?” experimentation is what makes S.O. worthwhile to me. So I hope you agree. And I really want to say a public thanks to the KH guys for taking this up. [...]