finding friday: dear colleen

first, a brief backstory. a few years ago I was watching late night television instead of studying for finals. I think it was david letterman. he had this guest on who collected found things, and other people's found things, and compiled them into a magazine, and later a coffee table book. I was so intrigued. to think of taking that sneak peak into someone else's life. something they did not intend, but there you are anyway. wondering the who + where + why + how + what of their every day life. I started looking at the ground more often.

it's amazing what you can find when you just start looking. it especially helps if you're in the habit of walking from place to place. I started finding these cool finds everywhere; notes while walking to work, photos in the parking lot, shopping lists, confessions of love and/or hatred, poems, school grades. I like to try and piece their stories back together. like I know what they're going through and how they're feeling just from this little snippet of paper.

needless to say I have found a lot over the years. with every intention of sending them in to found magazine, they have just sat in my life; collected but not shared. so here I am going to give you a weekly dose of someone else + a little bit of me, because every story has a story.




this was my first find and I was so excited about it. I was walking from the train station to work and found it on the sidewalk. how cute is this? a mother writing a note to her daughter as if she actually is the tooth fairy. some of my favorite lines include: I admire your dancing, colleen--you dance like a fairy. you dance like a fairy. love it. and the way she signs the note: love, tooth fairy. not even love, the tooth fairy. just love, tooth fairy. priceless. and I hope colleen did keep brushing and that 5th grade was good to her. colleen, where are you now and how are your teeth?! tooth fairy wants to know!