Pineapples

Remember - Cherish The Moment Before The Memento

Do you have any prized possessions? Something that reminds you of a trip or special occasion. A gift your best friend gave you for being in their wedding. A trinket purchased on a holiday. Perhaps a watch given to you by a now dead loved one.

I have some. A book on etymology that was my mother’s. She purchased it in 1960, for school. It was published almost 100 years before that, in 1877. It sits on my desk. A reminder that she adored words and I adore them.

We love. We Lose. We cherish memories and things that trigger them. We also give gifts to signify the bonds that matter to us. One I’ve always found sweet. The neckless with a half-a-heart. You wear half and your best friend wears the other.

I have something like this. My sister was born when I was in college. Same parents, but 20 years apart. When she lived in Los Angeles and I New York City I purchased my version of the “half-a-heart” necklace. Patagonia was selling clothes with pineapples on them. She got a dress, in red. I got a shirt, in blue. It is remarkably comfortable. Made from bamboo.

Pineapples in LA in 1995.

It was a silly little thing that connected us. My sister grew out of the dress. I have my shirt. I wore it to the party before her wedding.

2022

It’s become a memento. But the age of photography has magnified its memento(ness). I’ve traveled all over the world in my Pineapples. It’s been to The Philippines twice.

The Philippines

It went on my honeymoon 24 years ago.

Maldives

It has been to just a few beaches.

Clockwise from Top Left; Mexico, Peter Island, Virgin Gorda, Long Island.

It’s been close to home.

I look back at the moments enjoyed in my Pineapples. That got me thinking about the things we keep and carry. It’s not new. There’s a study by the University of York on the topic. Researchers looking at settlements in Scotland that existed as far back as 640BC found evidence that the living kept reminders of the dead. Something to create “a continuing bond.”

But what about before we need to be “continuing?” I realized my shirt has become a memento before the moment. A “premento.” Looking over these pictures I realized I now pack it in anticipation of moments and memories worth cherishing. Or at least that’s the hope.

Pineapples In Vietnam a Second Time. On the Streets of Rio de Janeiro. Fly Fishing In Colorado

I realized its a trigger to be present. A talisman. It brings me good fortune on a new journey. It protects me from thinking beyond the moment I’m in.

Time is a wicked governor of our lives. We look back unable to change what we see. We look forward, often misguided in our belief we can control what comes. That leaves now. This moment. All you ever really have. We love. We lose. We Cherish. My silly shirt and its pineapples are a reminder and warning. Cherish the moment before the memento. Find your “Pineapples.”