I found  a neatly packaged, plastic bag filled with these cub scout artifacts…the books, the badges and the neckerchiefs.  I had to wonder how these things ended up at the city dump.  There was a time when these items would have been saved as precious memories of some boy’s passage through childhood.  I had no idea how to weave any of these things into my own work.  I left the bag in our work area for one of the other artists to ponder.

Several days ago I watched as this new (almost new) dollhouse was tossed from the back of someone’s truck.  I had to once again wonder what was going on here…did some child outgrow this perfectly “good” toy?

Maybe it was too long ago that these kinds of things actually became “keepsakes” in someone’s attic as a memory and celebration of a child’s rich, imaginary play.

I also found a little plastic bag tucked inside one of the dollhouse rooms with all the pieces of furniture as well as the entire family of dolls.

I kept this little bag of “furnishings,” but the dollhouse was eventually swept away by the monster tractor, which clears the off-loading area periodically throughout the day so that more trash can be dumped.  I may make a little boxed “shrine” with these pieces…celebrating that unknown child in my own way.