Look around you. There are objects everywhere, and each one of them has a story. Are they interesting stories? Well, that depends on how you tell it.

1. There’s a bluebird house outside my office window. It’s one of nine that I’ve hung on trees around my yard. My mother loved bluebirds and wanted to see them around her home. So, I did some research and learned that if you put up bluebird houses, you will attract them. I went to the library and looked up the specs on how to build one, then built and hung three of them in her front yard. Mother passed away 29 years ago, and I spread her ashes near the bird feeder in front of her house. I now own and live in that house, and I see bluebirds all the time. They remind me of her.

2. My key ring sits on my desk until I’m ready to leave the house. On it is a tiny flat-head screwdriver manufactured by Proto and engraved with: “KING HWD CO,” for King Hardware Co. It belonged to my father, who acquired it as a gift from store’s owner, when he worked as a purchasing agent for a construction company. He carried it on his key ring for as long as I knew him, and I placed it on mine the day he died (more than 40 years ago).

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