Finding things in trees

I read in the New York Times in a 2004 article that "in 2002 people found and brought to the Tokyo center $23 million in cash, 72 percent of which was returned to the owners, once they had persuaded the police it was theirs. About 19 percent of it went to the finders after no one claimed the money for half a year."

Walking around Nagoya, you can see that most Japanese take the idea of lost and found quite seriously. On any given day you can see ownerless items propped up against walls and hung on trees or fences. On many days, those things are my things... dropped while dealing with Carlos trying to crawl out of his stroller. Usually, I don't even know that I lost them until I see them draped across something.



To the left is my straw hat. I knew I lost it, but had no idea where until the other morning when I walked down the stairs from our apartment towards campus and saw it dangling in a branch - weathered from the rain and misshapen from the 50 scooters and bicycles that probably ran over it in the street. I am keeping it there for now. It reminds me to check for my hat.






This is a Snoopy doll someone must have dropped. You would think it was a child's but, given the Japanese obsession with cuteness, it could have been an 80 year-old male physics professor.





And speaking of finding things in trees... I found something very special in two trees by our apartment the other day... MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS. I was so happy to see the Magnolia trees I almost hugged them. Here are two not great photos of one of the trees and its blossoms. It was like a secret fairy flew all of the way from New Orleans just to tell me to have a nice day... and I did.