Author Topic: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".  (Read 2326 times)

Offline starboardlight

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Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« on: June 05, 2006, 07:58:26 pm »
So what have you kept of your past loves? What was the context of you acquiring the item? what does it mean to you now?

For me, it's a small pocket knife. In high school, there was a boy in my class with whom I felt a strong emotional connection. It was more than lustful infatuation since the majority of my thoughts were not about sex, but rather intimacy with him. I kept day dreaming about burying my face into the crook of his neck and breathing in the fresh scent of early afternoon sweat. This was during a very confusing time, as I was still struggling with my own sexuality, and hadn't quite accepted myself as I am. My feeling for him was just more confusion to deal with. Looking back, there might have been some reciprocation of feelings. I remember in French class, toward the end of our senior year, I was talking to somebody, and he came up behind me, wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up in a bear hug from behind. I felt his entire body pressed again mine. That's not a random thing that teenage boys do, is it? There's meaning there, or am I projecting?

Earlier in the year, we were working on a project, and he lent me a pocket knife to cut something. I found that pocket knife a few days ago, while cleaning out some stuff. I don't think I intended to steal the knife from him, but I remember I kept hesitating to return it to him. I just wanted to keep holding it in my palm. (very Freudian, I know) So in the end, I guess I hesitated too long and the chance to return it passed. And the thing is, he never asked for it back, either. More projecting on my part, quizas.
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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2006, 10:03:45 pm »
Shortly before we parted ways my first girlfriend gave me two of her earrings.  I haven't seen her for 5 years and it would actually even be a challenge to find her if I wanted to get in touch with her again.  I'd probably have to send a postcard "general delivery" out into the wild blue yonder.  But, every single day of my life I wear one of those earrings.  It's the only earring that I leave in when I sleep or shower, etc.  It's a little, tiny black triangle.  It's also the only gay symbol I wear to work.  I would die if I lost it.  I wear the other earring she gave me most of the time except when I'm at work or visiting my parents.  It's a little silver earring with two inter-twined "female" symbols.

I actually have mementos from all my girlfriends.  But, these earrings are certainly the most significant to me.
 :-\

ps. By the way, nice topic starboardlight!
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Offline twistedude

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2006, 10:28:52 pm »
"The Plays and Poems of T.S. Elliot," from a Jew, to a Jew...

My first boyfriend sent me, at St. Mary's Episcopal School fot Girls, (to which I had been banished), "A Diary of Love," by Maude Hutchens, a slightly pornographic book in diary form, , and the only book my m parents ever forbade me to read..

The two great loves of my life never gave me anything...much!

"We're each of us alone, to be sure. What can you do but hold your hand out in the dark?" --"Nine Lives," by Ursula K. Le Guin, from The Wind's Twelve Quarters

Offline RouxB

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2006, 10:38:29 pm »
My first love-true love. From that I have a jigsaw puzzle of his favorite pictureo us-both reading, me in his bathrobe, laying on the couch with my head in his lap. The other, a rough pen ink portrait of me. Boy did I love him...

Heathen

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2006, 11:13:21 pm »
I have a couple of snapshots, one that I took of him, one that his best friend took of the two of us together. Boy, am I glad to have those snapshots.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline opinionista

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2006, 07:11:11 pm »
I have a small compact double mirror with geometric patterns on one side that my ex boyfriend gave me as a birthday present. I don't really need a memento to remember him because we're still friends, and see each other regularly, but it's very beautiful and useful, so I always carry it in my bag.

But the best memento I have is from my dear grandmother who passed away 14 years ago. It's a couple of slippers (feet mittens?), she knitted for me so I wouldn't be cold when I went to school to Madison, Wisconsin in 1987.
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. -Mark Twain.

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2006, 07:52:16 pm »
I haven't kept anything to remind me of any of my ex-boyfriends, save for a couple of prom pictures of my first boyfriend and I that my Mom had saved for years and that I found after she died.  But those are more mementos of her than of him.

I still have lots of things my mother gave me:  an antique cruet (miniature pitcher) she got for me at a thrift shop for Christmas one year, the square wooden jewelry box she made another Christmas, the top of which she carved a kaleidoscope-like design into by hand, and a whole box of letters she wrote to me when I was away in college.  I also have the gold Mother's ring my brothers and I gave her for Mother's Day in 1984 with two aquamarines and a peridot set in it.  I also have a whole small chest full of photographs of her when she was a kid with her family, then of when she and my Dad were first married, then when all of us were babies and then small children.  I have a handful of her in later days, but all those earlier ones were much happier.

I have really old photographs of my paternal grandparents when each of them was just a kid, then when they were first married and my Dad was little, too.  And I have the 24-carat gold chain and tiny cross my grandmother gave to me when I was baptised in her church at 14.

Other than the disk that contains all of the photos we've ever taken of our son and a few framed photographs of Ed and me at various points in our marriage, those are all my most cherished material possessions.  Those and the first shirt Will ever wore home from the hospital that is so tiny, it looks like something that would fit an old-fashioned baby doll.  Come to think of it, if the house were on fire and we were all out and safe, I think above all I might risk my life (within reason) to save that shirt and my mother's letters.
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Offline Kd5000

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Re: Love's Momento - Your own "2 blood stained shirts".
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2006, 11:56:03 am »
Some driftwood and some shells we found on the beach together when we were in Provincetown,MA together 15 years ago.  I still keep it.  We've long since parted company. That driftwood moves with me everytime I relocate.