finding friday: the script

Chris Bonser with the Utah
Highway Patrol association
if sec How are you this morning
Good!
I know your a busy
man
But we're putting together the
next issue of utah sate
trooper magazine. it's something
we've put together twice a year
for the past 12 years) It's a widely distributed
magazine sent to over 30,000
businesses and 20,000
residence, it's also distributed
on capitol hill

oh man, who doesn't do this all the time? you've got an important phone call to make so you write out your full script. you know, important things you want to cover; phone numbers, addresses, main talking points. everything you want to remember. it always sucks, though, when the convo doesn't go as planned. and you're left to ad lib. yikes! that's why I just avoid the phone altogether.

finding friday: size six

this just makes me happy, because being a size six obviously made her happy. you go, girl!

finding friday: angelica's birthday

I found this little lovely party invite three years ago on main street in park city after a day of skiing with mr rad dog himself, mike. (btw, mike, are you still out there???) it made me happy that her birthday party was two full days long. she must be one cool chick. it made me sad that we had missed it. we were skiing the PC pow on april 9th. total bummer.

finding friday: identity theft

I found this on the street just south of the public library. it is identity theft in action. the numbers have been blurred to protect the innocent. it was kind of crazy when I first found this, though, because a lot of the names on there are very similar to people I know--people associated with the camp I work at. but it's not those people, don't worry. it's pretty scary nonetheless to think your sensitive information could be laying in a gutter somewhere. no good can come from that. {unless the good is a finding friday blog post}

finding friday: stranded, not allowed to have a girl

{text on the left}
smoker, to.
roman catholic,
montana.

honest and trusted
in bussinesses.
could you
spair a few
dollars to buy
food I am
stranded in
city traveling

north to
organ on foot
not from utha.

HUNGY.

man oh man does this guy not like salt lake city or what. probably because he's not allowed to have a girl for years. that's gotta be rough.

but I don't really get this. was this just his rough draft for the cardboard sign he'd be holding by the side of the freeway off-ramp? or was he actually showing this to people passing by on the street as he sat in front of the mall? was the no girl thing supposed to garner sympathy translating into more dollars? 'cause his whole honest and trusted in bussinesses, I need food 'cause I'm stuck here in a city I hate thing is a little too small and illegible. I'm hoping this is just his rough draft. he could definitely work on it.

finding friday: the ducks in my lake

out of all the ducks in
my lake I choose you
to take __________

. . .to the dance?

kids, this is a creative date invite in it's early stages. I hope (s)he put a live duck with the little poem. I'd go out with a guy who gave me a live duck. {well. . . okay, so I don't know if I really would or not. live duck? don't they have diseases or something? maybe just the ones from the liberty park pond. . .} my favorite creative date invite I ever did was when I taped a bunch (or was it just one?) of snickers candy bars to a piece of paper and on the front it said, "find my name." I don't think I even made up some cheesy saying to go with the candy bar. oh and then the best part is that my name wasn't hidden in some secret locale. all you had to do was flip the paper over and there it was. plain and simple. I think the guy appreciated it. he was random like that. my least favorite creative date reply was from a boy who will remain anonymous {according to his valedictorian speech, he might be a world dominator some day. and we'll all be working for him. it was a pretty scary speech.} it was for the halloween dance. he gutted a pumpkin and then put in a lot of different stuff. gross stuff. like smells like puke stuff. let's just say this wasn't a very fun date for many various reasons. favorite moment, however, was calling the cops on the rest of our group. I should tell you all about that someday. . .

finding friday: good time in private

would you like to have a good time in privet
please trust me has to be your place

I can only imagine what the good time will entail. probably a game of monopoly and lots and lots of grape soda. he doesn't want to do it at his place 'cause his roommates are kind of obnoxious slobs. and, you know, he wants to impress his lady. yikes.

finding friday: nice parking job

how many times have you tried to park your car but couldn't because of some idiot? how many times have you wanted to leave a note such as this? {how many times have you parked the car like some idiot and hoped you didn't receive a note such as this?} I'm sure we have all felt this way at least fifty times.

I think I found this note in the parking lot of my office building a few years ago--either that or I was walking to my office building from the train--and repeated the words of the note like a mantra all the way to work. I think I liked it because it rhymed. and the fact that the feelings behind the note are so universal. most of us just don't usually put it down in writing, left for said idiot to find.

finding friday: suffer with shame

this is one of those finds where I'm left with only one piece of the puzzle. and I'm really wishing I had it all, or at least more of it. from these few words I can already tell this note was a good one. was it a horrible breakup? did someone backstab someone else? we will never know. all that we do know is that someone has suffered with shame. I really really wish I knew why.

finding friday: Gladys Page

I don't think I've posted a find for the last two fridays. {let's be honest, I've had a complete lack of blogging as of late} so today, as a fresh start to the new year, I wanted to post something fabulous. something favorite. something worthy of the year's first find:

Dear Mama,
We have house cleaning just about all done. Grass tall enough to be mowed. May flowers, violets & Buttercups all over. But we have not [something] garden. . . [can't really read the rest and then it is torn]
[she must have ran out of room on bottom, this was written upside down on the top of the postcard:] saw by paper he was sick.
Gladys Page

the post card is addressed to:

Mrs. Nellie Page
Dell Rapids
S. Dak.

right above the address, written in pen:

Aunt Eds (?) + Gladys

I was out on a run--in fact I think it was THIS run--and saw what looked to be an old postcard lying on the ground. it was an old postcard. a really old postcard dated april 29 1913. what a find! my heart reeled. but what do I do with it? it was so fragile, already held together by only a small thread of paper. so I did the only thing I could do, run home with it carefully in my hands. trying all the way to cradle it, as to not let the pieces separate. {unfortunately they did} by the time I got home, it had fallen apart in my sweaty little hands.

I was so proud of this little find, though. I'm not sure my roommates appreciated it as much as I did. I think they just thought I was weird for collecting trash. but this wasn't trash. this was a peak into someone's life--Gladys' life. a life that was lived in the early part of the last century! I am so far removed from Gladys, from the place + time, but here I am feeling so connected to her. wishing I knew more of her story. honestly, just wishing I could actually read more of the postcard. it's so intriguing though, isn't it? the bits and pieces of everyday life?

finding friday: maria

oh my, this is one of my favorite kind of finds: it's like a treasure hunt + puzzle all wrapped up into one. see, I was walking home from the train one day (when I lived on 9th east in the preserve) and there scattered all about the sidewalk and hiding in the bushes were these little pieces of paper. a note! my heart was full of excitement. I hurried and tried to pick up as many pieces as I could grab, hoping I found them all. it looks like I did, because it is a complete note above. the best part about it is I had a roommate named maria at the time. after I went home and taped all the pieces together I accused her of being the author of the note. I think she's secretly still in junior high. (okay, so not really.)

but doesn't this take you all back to middle school? man, I wrote thousands of these notes. I'm sure it was folded up all nice and cutesy at one time too, with the two: and from: displayed on the outside fold.

I especially like her friendship poem. maria and justine must be bff. and the christmas artwork is pretty cute too. and gosh, the news about nico's leg? I hope he's alright!

finding friday: love poem + proposal?

Hey my love. I'm under
a spell. oh too sweet
hearing your voice is a treat I'm always
excited for the times when we will meet.
What we have is a special gift
together we were ment to drift
when your near my heart beats swift
I need you so much I crave your
golden touch come on baby lets
go to lunch.
your my one bestest friend good
things to you I'll always send
between us there can be no end.
Tears of joy have droped out from
my eyes no reason for any ties
Take a thought upon my endless tries
I'm so glad your in my life
even though there is so much
strife come with me to be my wife

ahh, yes. the love poem. and what a good love poem it is. I need you so much I crave your/ golden touch come on baby let's/ go to lunch very romantic. even amongst the strife and turmoil of life and their relationship, he still wants her to be his wife. just beautiful.

I urge every man to write his wife/girlfriend/lover a poem such as this. it will surely win her heart and maybe even tears of joy will drope out of from her eyes.

finding friday: the election

I don't know about you, but joselyn turner has my vote for sophmore president! with a campaign like this how could she lose?

seriously, I would "pick" her based off of this. I don't remember where I even happened upon this little jewel. but I've loved it ever since. I wonder what high school she went to, and if she actually won the election. (with ralph wiggum on your campaign team how could you not?!)

finding friday: twins

I found this in the parking lot while walking to work one day. it was full of little indentations and holes from being run over by cars on the little rocks. I absolutely love it because this mom + daughter duo is not only dressed exactly the same, but they're pullin' such tough faces as well. I wouldn't want to meet these two alone in the woods! {and, btw, who doesn't love the white visor?}

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!