One of the funniest (or crazy making for some...) things about the Frame Shop is our collective propensity to lose things. For some, it may be hard to imagine losing a wallet, but not for us. We are champions. If misplacing every day kinds of things were an Olympic sport, Owner and I would put Michael Phelps to shame with our gold medal winnings.
Since becoming a framer, I have become more fully aware of my gift for misplacing things. I have come to embrace this part of me. I haven't always viewed my "gift" as such. When I was a child, my father would become near apoplectic because I could lose only one shoe. I felt like somehow something was wrong with me, as if I were the problem, like people aren’t supposed to be able to lose stuff. But now I see and believe that being able to lose only one shoe is quite a feat. Ask yourself, can you lose just one shoe? I doubt it.
I don't mean to brag, but I am really talented when it comes to losing things. Now, when it comes to coffee cups, I can take no credit. It is a proven fact that all coffee cups have tiny wings that allow them to fly away when you set them down and turn your back. That piece of scientific fact aside, I get it: I am a bit distractible, and when I set something down, I am usually thinking of a few thousand other extremely import things like "I wonder what the global whale population is? Did I leave the towels in the dryer? I wish my dogs could talk. I hope they invent a hydrogen car in my lifetime." All that necessary thought is what gives me the ability to forget immediately where I placed a thing, such as my keys, screwdriver, cell phone, glass cutter and you name it ad infinitum.
The only time my super-human ability to misplace things becomes problematic is when I am trying to find the thing I need. For instance, I can get extraordinarily frustrated trying fit together art, mat, frame and glass when I can't find what I need especially when I just had it in hand. This whole "have to find it" thing is Kryptonite. Invariably at this point, my astounding talent for cursing engages. My gifts really do abound.
Owner and I really do make an effort to have our tools handy and readily available for use. Ok, so really that means we have a bunch of the same tools so there is always an extra available, but that counts. When the Kryptonite is too strong, we simply have to walk away and wait for the missing item to reveal itself. It always does. Owner used to have an antidote for this, The Finder, but alas The Finder moved on to help others.
Not long after I started working at the Frame Shop, Owner told me about Shirley. Shirley worked for Owner for a very long time. I remember her. She was an incredibly kind and talented woman, and I imagine she has a pretty good sense of humor too given how long she worked there. At any rate, Shirley doesn't have the gift of loss. Owner revealed Shirley’s true identity to me. She is The Finder. According to legend, and Owner confirms, The Finder could literally find anything. I completely understand what an asset having a finder is. I used to have a Finder like Shirley who worked for me. She saved my hide numerous times.
Now, every time one of us needs to find something we simply say, "Call Shirley." It's like a prayer or incantation to invoke The Finder. Until we perfect our summoning of The Finder, we are working diligently to tame our gift for losing items so as to lessen our need for The Finder. I am convinced we shall succeed.
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