Souvenirs are those things you acquire and save to remind you of places you’ve traveled, events you’ve enjoyed (or not), anything that can remind you of a milestone or experience in your life. Looking at and thinking about your souvenirs can inspire memories pleasant or unpleasant, and those memories can inspire you to write.

I believe that souvenirs can be divided into three categories: the nostalgic, the humorous, and the bizarre.

Nostalgic Souvenirs:

Do you have mementos from your wedding? How about personalized napkins, printed match books, other table favors from the reception or dinner? Guest lists? Table diagrams?

Did you keep any souvenirs from your high school or college graduation? How about your senior yearbook, a colored tassel from your mortarboard, a program with your name in it, an achievement certificate, a copy of a speech you gave?

Travel souvenirs, of course, can bring memories of some wonderful days. My personal collection contains everything from a miniature Eiffel Tower from Paris to a set of Russian dolls to elephant figurines from Thailand to a wooden donkey cart from Costa Rica to an ashtray made of lava from Mount Etna to a leprechaun figure from Ireland, a plush sheep from Australia, a wooden cow from Switzerland, a toy penguin from Antarctica, and on and on. But strangely enough, one of my most memorable travel souvenirs fits into the next category.

Humorous Souvenirs:

I suppose there’s nostalgia here too, but my orange plastic lobster from Maine is quite funny. It’s small, cheap, and ugly, but it reminds me of one of my first motorcycle trips with my husband, when we visited friends who lived on an island off the Maine coast. At that time, I don’t think I’d ever eaten lobster; it seemed rather exotic to me. We were too poor to go in for fine dining, and lobster was and is hardly native to Chicago.

We had lobster for dinner, and then again for breakfast in a lobster omelet. Perhaps it was too much of a good thing, since I’ve rarely ordered lobster since that time, even now that I can probably afford it. That orange plastic lobster still resides in my china cabinet, however. Without it, I might not be able to remember or write about that trip from many years ago.

Bizarre Souvenirs:

As for bizarre souvenirs, it’s hard to beat one I read about recently. It seems that a man saved his gall stones after an operation and had them put into a pendant for his wife. She was not pleased. I’ll bet that one or the other could find writing inspiration in that gift!

I remember a doctor’s asking me if I wanted to keep the long silver screw that had held my broken elbow together (it had to be removed when the head began poking through my skin). I declined; that’s not the sort of experience I want to remember. On a similar note, I declined my dentist’s offer of a gold tooth crown he had to replace when its foundation decayed. I might have sold the low-quality gold for a few dollars, but . . . no thanks.

On the other hand, some people may relish talking and writing about their medical and dental procedures. I question the need for souvenirs in such cases, but perhaps sometimes the souvenir we rejected, the “one that got away,” might make the best story. Even an old grocery list or a receipt saved unintentionally can inspire interesting memories. How about income tax forms from long ago?

Look around. Don’t neglect those forgotten boxes in your closets. When you spot something interesting, examine it carefully. What does it remind you of? You may find great inspiration in one or more of those strange objects we all collect at some point in our lives.

Next time: Still more writing inspirations.