nine

I found this keychain at Point Lookout State Park. I saw it, golden, glinting in the winter sun on the side of the road, bent down, and picked it up. It is the exact keychain that my grandfather gave me to put my car keys on when I was fourteen years old and incidentally had no car keys. A week after my grandfather gave this keychain to me, he passed away and I will always think about the last thing that ever passed from his hand to mine. A Trump Taj Mahal casino keychain from Atlantic City, given to him as one of the many gifts to regular patrons who reguarly lose money.

I lost my keys in a movie theater in Washington DC a year ago and with them, this keychain. To find something that could be it and is exactly like it made me feel strangely in touch with the memory of my grandfather. Like maybe I was meant to hang onto this thing. This time, I won't lose it.