Story In A Box Assignment

This story is about how items can be much more than just what is for decoration. Many have stories or memories that follow them where ever they may go. Also, how simple an object may be, but yet it means the world to someone. What may be garbage to a person, could be a treasure to another.

Assignment #1

Story-in-a-box

Memories

One day my grandmother called us. She said that my grandfather was being transferred to Safe Haven, a nursing home in our town. It was decided we would go to help make his transition easier, and I would help him set up his room.

When we arrived at Safe Haven, I was excited to see my grandfather! After talking for a while, we were shown to his room. The Care Cab driver brought in a small brown box and my grandpa then picked it up and asked me if I’d like to help him set his items up in his room.

There were 12 items, each told a different story or had a different meaning. Every time I was able to come to his old house, I loved hearing about each one. The first was a canoe that he had handmade when he was a little boy with his father. His father decided to teach him how to make items that he could always sell in the future. The canoe was made out of wood shavings, was fairly small, and had ties that were of leather. It was fairly durable, so I set it next to a lamp near his bed. After that, he decided to make more items out of wood. One of his most prized possessions was an image of a friend’s head. She had blue eyes, red lips, and her name was Valburga. The head looked exactly like her. I placed it next to the canoe, and then continued digging in the box. The next item I felt was soft and I knew exactly what it was, a piece of cloth that he had bought for my grandmother when they bought their first house together. It had a very detailed flower design, and matched one of her favorite pictures. I set it in the middle of one of the tables in his new room for everyone to see.
My mother pulled out the next two items, which were figurines. One was a dark lady who had a very young face; my grandfather said it reminded him of a school teacher he once had. The other figurine was a man with a drum and a scarf, my grandfather loved music, drums being his favorite. I placed these two items in the middle of the cloth and strategically placed 3 chestnuts that my grandfather was holding in his hands to be put somewhere. They were his favorite to eat.  Finally, I picked out my favorite item, a hand blown glass jar that is green in color. It was from a woman who just had a baby and was selling the jars to make money. He felt sorry for her, and gave her triple the price. He always had a heart for kids.

My grandmother then gave my grandfather a stamp that was made out of jade and asked if he remembered it. He had used it when he wrote her letters from when he was drafted into World War 2. It had very intricate designs at the top; I loved to look at it. I set it on the end table and moved on. One of the prettiest items my grandfather had was this Spanish farm called a Finka, it was made out of clay and I always imagined how living at one would be. The Finka was detailed with a garage, chimney, pebble stones that made up the driveway, and trees in the front. I set it next to the canoe. Next I pulled out a ruler that he used to make a wallet out of leather. My grandfather said he worked hard on the elephant detailing on the front, and he made it to keep the coins he had received by a friend in a currency holder. The holder was blue and he needed a more durable case. I set the wallet in his lap along with the currency; I didn’t want to misplace them. I was saddened when we were done setting up the room, and I cannot wait to go back and see him and hear his stories about each of his treasured items.