One Man's Treasure

I'd never wish the stress of a calamity on others. Still, a house fire or flood must be a sure way of getting rid of junk collected over the years. As a case in point, I finally got around to throwing away these old things that were hanging on the wall in the bedroom. Had it not been for painting the walls, they very well could've been hanging around, literally, for years more.



Here's the story on the front frame. In 1988, I worked for a year for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Instructors were given dorm-style rooms right on the military compound. The rooms were provided with basic furniture. Whenever an employee left, their old room was always left unlocked. During one such time, I found this RSNF-inventoried picture. It was calming to see the river scene while actually sitting on the edge of the desert. Additionally, it may have reminded me New Hampshire, I guess. I appropriated it.

After I left Dammam, it came with me and was placed on walls in Bahrain, the UAE, and both apartments in New Westminster. During one move, the glass broke. In the intervening years, the colours faded. So, after twenty years, I realize it's time to say goodbye to it. One of the other little pictures was salvaged from a dumpster when a hotel in Dubai was updating rooms. The third was a framed beach towel from long ago.

I don't mind parting with them; it's just I had to document their existence here first.