Memorable Memorabilia
a writing prompt for you
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The box had been moved multiple times—at least eight different times. A small cardboard box with unsticking tape and words written and crossed off on the outside, labeled: Travel, and also Arizona and Germany. We kept stashing it in various closets and attics and basements, always intending to sort through the travel memories and do something with them. (Note: The trip to Arizona was in 2009 and trips to Germany even farther back in the 1900s.)
Over the weekend it finally happened—the tired cardboard box was opened. Inside, along with Arizona and Germany memorabilia, were items from trips to France, Italy, and New York City. Apparently we saved everything from our travels in the days before apps on phones: Brochures. Museum guides. Maps. Receipts. Postcards. Foreign currency. Menus. Even those cardboard coasters from restaurants. You might ask why these trips got preserved so thoroughly while others did not. Perhaps because some were big, clergy sabbatical grant-funded trips we absolutely could not have afforded on our own budget. Also, I used to think I’d be the kind of person who made scrapbooks, but I most definitely am not.
We culled much of the memorabilia, and saved a fraction of the rest in a smaller plastic tub. I guess we’ll move it another time or two before we finally let it all go.
One item I saved is the menu from Trattoria 4 Leoni in Florence, Italy where I had one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten: fiocchetti di pera in salsa di taleggio e asparagi—pear and asparagus pasta.1 I’ve sent other friends and family there for the same dish and they all agree it is worth the trip across the Arno river. I’ve tried to recreate it myself and haven’t gotten it right yet…and that’s okay. Preferable, even, as it can keep its superlative rating in my memory.
I suppose it was the confluence of travel conditions as well as the pasta itself that made it so memorable. It was a rainy day in Florence. We were tired and hungry. The food was exactly right, and the company even better. Rediscovering the menu brought it all back.
Federico Fellini once said, “Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” Remembering that meal from a summer night in 2006, I’d have to agree.
a writing prompt
Two possibilities spring to mind for your writing this week:
What box of memorabilia can you sift through to find your own forgotten treasure for a prompt?
What meal stands out in your memory? Write about what you recall, using as many sensory details as you can.
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I could have sworn I’ve written about this meal before as a prompt, but I can’t find it. Maybe I just keep dreaming about it….
This prompt took me to Tuscany, and at the very end to Puerta Vallarta. Lemon Thyme Pasta in Tucany and Rosemary Creme Brulee in Puerta Vallarta. The angels sang with both of those dishes!
memorable memorabilia--that's what pulled me in even before reading. Today I brought a head board and foot board of a beautiful oak twin bed purchased in Kansas, supposedly from England to a thrift store. It was Rebecca's bed for about 5 years before she got a double. It has been around and been moved to 3 homes in the past 35 years. A carpenter could have made something beautiful with it. How many years can one wait for a genius idea. Finally, I just got tired of moving it around. but much to my surprise, when I dropped it off...I said. "good bye Rebecca". I did not expect that.