It’s a French word, souvenir, meant to be a memento, reminder, something that brings back memories. At times, it seems that the more we travel, the more events we attend, the more productions we’re part of, the more souvenirs we collect. And then we wonder if there’s a point in trying to collect them all, if we can’t just rely on memory to help us recall those past times, people, and places.
I keep souvenirs. I have special receptacles for them. Last week, I just decided to spend a while in my treasure- filled souvenir box. I needed to pick up only one item to start the memories rolling. It was a wooden food label from a restaurant. There were just a few words I had written on it. As I held the wooden card between my fingers, I was amazed at the memories that ensued.
These included the people, the place, even the sensations associated with the meal we shared. For a while, it seemed like our dinner conversation was being replayed. I was reminded of the waiter’s hospitality, recalled the ambience of the restaurant, and that warmed my senses. Everything was coming back. I didn’t re-taste the food, no; but I recall that the flavours were welcome, pleasant ones. That memento was, indeed, a souvenir!
How relaxing it was, and how revealing that a little circular food marker would trigger so much going on in my grey matter. There is really a point to souvenirs, why hospitality services folk make so much ado about them and extract so much money out of traveller’s money for them.
Don’t take your souvenirs for granted. Enjoy them when there is time to, instead of getting bored.
In my photo below, you will see a snail. I saw it a year ago, but viewing my photo now, I recall how long the snail stayed in that position. I have one showing its longer shadow as the day wore on. The souvenir photo helps me recall my conversation with my grandson who educated me about these snails with which he was so familiar. As a trained biologist and a naturalist at heart, I was attracted to the snail. But there was still more to learn, and the young man helped me learn some more. My souvenir photo pulls all these together. It also reminded me of the rainbow that I’d stepped out to admire when I noticed the snail. See that rainbow in the featured image
So, if I were to gather a few souvenir photos on one page, a would really be putting together a photobook of stories. Now that’s another thing that is being marketed a whole lot. I can understand why. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and I say, “a genuine souvenir is worth a whole lot more”.