What I found in the Blue Bin
Written by hootenannie on March 11th, 2009I come from a family of nomads, with someone always moving and roaming and starting over. For the past 5 ½ years, my parents have been planted in Kansas City, and eventually, all of my siblings followed. My older brother and his family are there. My two younger sisters are there. I’ve been the one rogue for quite some time, living on my own in Seattle, and now, in Nashville.
But my parents are shifting again – this time, to Colorado Springs in May. Sister Becca is moving to Ft. Collins in a few weeks. And once again, the Parsons will be scattered across the country like a constellation.
I’m back in Kansas City this week to help my family sift through the junk items in their house, thin out their possessions, rip off wallpaper, and throw away anything ugly or useless. All I will say about this process is that I’m glad that it’s happening now – because if we waited another 30 years until my parents are gone, I’m pretty sure that the pile of detritus would be so large, the only solution would be to strike a match and burn it down.
I am also here to become the sole bearer of my possessions, and take them back to Nashville with me. Ever since early childhood, I’ve put any important mementos in the sacred “Blue Bin” – basically the Ark of the Covenant, in Rubbermaid form. Last night, I opened up the bursting box to see what was inside… and this is what I found.
What I Found in the Blue Bin from Annie Parsons on Vimeo.
I kept the good things – and there were definitely treasures – but needless to say, MUCH was trashed. I have no need for old high school band programs, or ticket stubs from Colorado Rockies games, or sketches of CareBears, or pink “participant” ribbons from art fairs, or homemade ceramic pots with dolphins painted on the side.
Or my old teeth or hair, as it were.
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I, too, was recently tasked with sifting through and taking all my childhood things from my parents house. The massive collection of elementary art is pretty astounding, including an impressive series of Native American sketches (what!?). Most suprising, and hard to part with? The 10″ stack of yearbooks, full of priceless haircuts, embarrassing “xoxos” from “boyfriends”, and cryptic notes signed “HAGS” (Have a Good Summer). Oh the 90s.
And yes, I kept them.
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ew.
teeth and hair. Great mementos.
My favorite was the horse with a bird on his back.
I used to draw people and they always had a flower sticking out of their heads.
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i did that at my parent’s house a couple years ago, and i found one of those little boxes full of teeth too! i’m not even kidding. and an envelope that had my actual braces in them, apparently the orthodontist gave them to me.
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First, you were (and probably still are) quite an artist. Those were some impressive horses.
Second, I applaud you for fitting so easily into a shirt you puff painted in 1995.
Third, I really enjoy your videos.
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Colorado Springs and Ft. Collins – two of my all-time favorite cities. Your parents and sister are so lucky!
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This was the most hilarious thing EVER.
Thanks for making my morning. So great. Haha.
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My sister lives in Ft. Collins – I love CO.
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I think I had the same paint-by-number horses back in the day!
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There is a great possibility that I still having a running list of people to smack really hard.
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Ummm… I just shared this video with my office. Don’t worry, not the whole office. The prarie women made me snort. My parents just brought me some of my own “special” things. I have pages of drawings of women in the Victorian Era. Did your obsession draw from Little House or Janette Oke?
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OMG, Ginger. JANETTE OKE. I was obsessed. I wanted to name my future daughters Missy, Ellie, and Clae. I drew the line at Nandry, though.
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I think I sketched the cover from “A Bride for Donnigan” on one of my school textbook covers. Also, on dress-up-as-your-favorite-storybook-character-day in 6th grade I dressed up as the main character in “Roses for Mamma.” Not to worry, it was a private Christian School – so my peer standings were not jeopardized by this choice.
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Loved Janette Oke. Then I discovered the secular romance novels. SCANDALOUS. (And oh so enthralling…)
I also wrote a short story about a girl being kidnapped. Why would we have written about girls being kidnapped??
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HA! I love the drawings of prairie women on small circles of paper! They remind me of my favorite book series when I was young, the Mandy books by Lois Gladys Leppard.
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I never wanted this video to end.
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Fort Collins? yay! And when you go to visit, I will give you my dad’s address so you can go ride our horses.
In a field.
Dream come true.
Glad to be of service.
:)
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I posted before I actually had a chance to watch the video, which has made my morning, too.
If Diana’s dad is not available, I can give you my sister’s number, and she will probably let you ride her horse… or help you find a horse to ride.
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Loved this!
I have a similar bin, but mine is black with a yellow lid. And I probably have one or two of those treasure chest tooth holders in there, too!
So funny. You’re a crack up.
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I would like you to post the short stories here on the blog. Please?
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I’m still cracking up about this. Horse. Horse. Horse. Prairie lady. Horse. And your laser tag print-out…don’t we save the strangest things?
Thanks for sharing!
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best video ever! i had my teeth too…and hair. and horses. and a million barbie dolls. p.s. you are one musical AND visual artistic badass! keep drawing!