Pleasantly United by 'Things' That are in+on Me / A Call for Second-Hand/Recycled Consumption

Somewhere in Northern Europe, the colorful and warm café sharply contrasts with the gray and sulky sky. By the time I laid down the bright orange cloth bag (printed in white ‘WISC, Santa Fe, NM’) and took out Alberto Manguel’s book Five Cities in Turkey, purchased in Istanbul, the source of my life-generator dawned on me and begged me to be written. I could visualize the essay about the things that I carry with me and on me w/out ever intending to possess them. Why bother owning? I took off my long claret winter coat with a hood, which found me in a second hand shop in Athens last Christmas. My sailor beret has the same color but it winked at me in Amsterdam at a shop called klein berlijn (small Berlin!)

By the time, my latte arrived, I was having a ball with the list and how much it tells about myself. My reading glasses are newish with a purplish frame, the bright tone that I used to envy on my favorite female professor’s eyes 20+ years ago. Oya Başak would take them out of her purse and scream: “Mickey Mouse glasses!” My decorative bookmark was sent by an Australian nun from Holy Meteora, near the town of Kalambaka in Greece. After meeting her at a monastery where she spent decades on the path of Jesus, I wrote her a letter, and gave my temporary address in Victoria University, Canada. She told me that the only way to communicate was letter-writing. In my dark rectangular mail box, her light brown envelope sat next to another one of the same size which was shipped from Bodrum, Turkey. The signed book arrived also from the Aegean coast, only the other side. They looked pretty darn close to each other on the map from Canada.

I take a sip and continue with further inventory of my things: My t-shirt is from Berkeley. It’s bright yellow, printed on the front is a big smiley with a baseball cap, exposing the location: California, Berkeley in black letters. I wear it to feel its energy. I slept in it last night but who can know or would care about it in this café? My sweater is from Salvation Army in Victoria, my navy-skinny jeans were dirt cheap too, purchased from the same street but in a different store. My only accessories are a watch and pendant. I have no idea from where I originally purchased the watch, but the straps are relatively new so I remember. I got them in San Francisco on the Pride Day of 2017, June 26^th to be specific! I reluctantly agreed on the beige color because the store lacked the navy-blue, but I got used to them. I wonder what my friend is doing right now but I am pretty sure that she is in SF.

My pendant is enchanted as its maker assured me: Flora picked the nut-size ornamental pomegranate from Northern Cyprus and transformed it into a pendant for me as a gift. Crossing paths with her in Istanbul was magical since she is a nomad herself with no strings attached. Thus, on my neck, I carry a real pomegranate whose value is to me more than any diamond can have. Diamonds don’t feature in holy books or fairy tales unlike pomegranates.  My baby-pomegranate has no polish or other human intervention. This spiritual daughter of mine knows me well. People can’t figure her out, they try to tone down her enthusiasm and dreams. Are they unconsciously bothered by even hearing them? Ignore them Flora, dream big; true, you’re bound to be minority on this planet but you’re stronger inside and you might as well enjoy it. You’re young and a magnet for miracles, again, too much for laypeople. Missing one’s potential must be painful to face in your presence so ‘you go girl,’ most whispers (behind) or warnings deserve to be overlooked. Thanks for sharing my passion for used clothes and caring about the planet. I hope we collaborate more in future and make this a better world.