Finding Meaning in the Lost and Found

I was truly amazed by the story of Ikuo Yokoyama's motorcycle when I saw it in the news recently. I'm so glad to see it here.

Wow...its just amazing. Thanks for sharing =)

Beautiful!! Amazing they found those things!!

When I find something of mine that had been lost, I like to think it went on a great adventure, a la Brave Little Toaster :) great article!

I am so touched by your story. Having lived in Washington, DC during 9/11, I can only imagine how beyond amazing it must have been to have had items returned to you that you had thought were gone forever. More and more, I really feel that objects themselves have lives and spirits and memories...

When my Mother-in-law passed away she had left me her diamond and ruby ring. I loved that ring. One day while folding a load of laundry I noticed the ring had fallen off my finger. I searched everywhere for that ring but couldn't find it anywhere. I was heart sick that it was gone and gave it up for lost. Ten years later and living in our new house, I was running late for work and couldn't find my watch in my nightstand. I took the drawer out to look behind it and there was the long lost ring. I almost cried. I couldn't believe it had been in there the entire time even after a 500 mile move. It was definitely a miracle.

That's cool!

Very realistic article! When I was young I did not value the items I had, during the time I always thought "I would just buy a new one" which leads me the bad habit of not caring my stuff. And couple years ago I finally little by little came to realize there are things that is very memorable! For example by high school year book is gone, and no where can be found, that is something I wont be able to buy back, or "found a new one" which I really regret!

I really appreciated this article, I had no idea about the 9/11 lost & found items.

This is why I love vintage things. Instead of the story ending in the trash or in the back of someones closet, it continues on my bookshelf, my porch, my wrist..

What a lovely story, and so amazing that all those lost things were unexpectedly found - you're so right that in saying it's nothing short of a miracle! I'm smiling at how Yokohama must feel having his Harley back :)

this story makes me all choked up I really think that this is why so many of us collect vintage, it is us trying to reclaim that piece from our childhood that holds happy memories of a better time. Very moving piece

Great blog post!

It's amazing that Harley Davidson restored the bike for the guy and returned it. I guess there are still nice people out there. Although I agree, objects don't matter as much if there isn't meaning behind them. I lost two very nice rings my boyfriend got for me while living at my new house with roommates. We think someone might have stolen them since they are absolutely nowhere to be found. They have been lost for months but I keep hoping that maybe one day they will turn up. I even looked through the very full vacuum bag for them. My boyfriend said he would get me new ones, but it just isn't the same. Lost objects being found and returned is one of the nicer things to hear about nowadays.

what an amazing story, so moving that the Harley Davidson Company fixed that bike and returned it to a man who had lost so much already! Funny how objects can take on so much meaning making them something more then a mere object

What a story! So many can connect with! Thank you! Atomic Attic

It lives, for now at the Harley Davidson Dealership 30 minutes from my home. As a Harley rider myself I think it a great story. We will see what happens... Mixed Metal Mimi

Great story ! Thank you for sharing :)

Awesome story!

This is beautiful Chappell. I live not too many miles away from where a lot of the debris is expected to wash up. Honestly it's very saddening to think about - but you've given me a new way to look at it. Thanks for that.

It is amazing story about that motorcycle! It happens that sometimes you loose things but sometimes they suddenly come back to you and make you happy... I think it is the same with friends....the happiest thing is that friends are coming to you in your worst day. Great post!

Wow! Stories like this are are wonderful. For the motorcycle to have been found in the first place is surprising and then to have Harley Davidson offer to restore it even more so.

A wonderful story. Although no doubt he'd prefer to have this three family members alive.

Great story.

One afternoon, just after my husband and I first moved into my Grandparents' former home, there was a knock at the backdoor. A woman stood there holding an envelope. She asked if I was the granddaughter of the former resident of the household. When I said yes she gave me the envelope, saying she had found it while sorting through objects of her recently deceased mother. Inside the envelope was an intricately hand painted card by my grandmother. "My mother and your grandmother were good friends," the woman said. "I though you might want this." I am still moved by that act of kindness.

touching story. <3

Like everything in life, you need to strike the right balance. In this very disposable and well-networked age, I often see inspirational updates reminding us all that "people are made to be loved and things are made to be used" and not the other way around, which is of course true. Yet it is clear to me that we can certainly love objects. The feel of your grandfather's notebook, the smell of your mother's scarf or the sound of your old toy all make memories that can be felt viscerally and clearly raise the value of some seemingly mundane stuff. And I am pretty sure that's what love is.

Very touching story, especially Yokoyama's topic was, because I am Japanese living in Canada. I purchase and enjoy vintage jewelry through Etsy, and I feel something more than objects in them as a jewelry to wear. It's like sharing a piece of history with someone else I've never met. Special feeling that I can't describe well enough.

It's so amazing that they found those items that they lost, great post, thanks, for sharing!

Wow!! Thanks for sharing!!

Very moving story. I'm so happy for Ikuo Yokoyama and his motorcycle :)

Very very touching. Thank you.

Enlightening story!

DUDE im so stoked for Ikuo!

The significance of objects in our lives is truly brought out by this post. My wife gave a gift on the occasion of our wedding in the form of a Mont Blanc fountain pen. I cherished it as and - yes- lost it some years ago. I still hope that it will turn up in a coat or briefcase compartment. I bought a new Mont Blanc but the original, wherever it is is still special. It,s only a pen but at the same time much more.

These are miraculous tales indeed. Thank you for sharing them!

Having loved ones in Japan, I am deeply moved by the kindess of strangers. You just never know what returning something lost could mean to someone.

Wonderful representation of how much good and kindness is in the world!

Thank you for this post Chappell, it says what i have always believed about the embodiment of objects - but says so much more eloquently than i could!

There ARE still good people in this world, after all!

what a touching story :)

Wonderful story. Thanks fir sharing!

This article is just fantastic! Thank you, Chappell! Oh goodness..I started to write a whole long(er) story about my Mom and seven lost family boxes from 1945 Japan, which included my Mom's beloved childhood sewing and collectibles. I just spoke in depth with her about this this past weekend (I didn't know all the details until now). I always thought she was a minimalist with a no attachment philosophy, but hearing her story made me realize just how deep she's carrying some hurt. It answered a lot of questions for me. I wish more than anything that one day at least one box will be discovered! I'll never say never! Stranger things have happened, right?! :)

How neat! It is so human to be so attached to material things. They often are our comfort and give us a sense of normalcy in our lives.

When we lost and found an object we valued, it's like a miracle indeed!

Still remember my daughter, maybe 2 years old, opening a box at Christmastime to find her long lost Elmo doll. It was really a replacement, purchased by her grandfather, but she just knew it was Elmo, returned to her. She loved that thing as if it were alive.

Great post!

Wow that's an amazing story about the motorcyle. Glad it was returned to him.

Yes :). Such a great touch ! This is why i love vintage things ! So true thy have their history . ”What’s interesting about objects is that they help us tell stories…but without a story, an object is meaningless,” Thanks again

Amazing, incredible article! I'm always looking forward to your posts! Thank you again, Chappell!

Fantastic!

get your motor running ♥

Two wheels move the soul, four wheels the body. Bike, Peace and Love!

Beautiful....

Great post!

I think more than anything, when you experience tragedy you long for the piece of you that was lost in that tragedy and I think these things, these objects that we lose during the chaos, in some way represent that piece of us that was lost. So when we find these objects it almost helps us feel a sense of restoration.

Incredible!

I remember hearing that story on the news. I would love to see the documentary.

Very touching story!

It's not just the act of finding something of importance, but the fact that that particular something made its way across oceans of debris and time (or literally oceans) to make its way back to you. It reminds you the world is smaller than you think, that most people are kind, and that hope can still exist after terrible tragedy. What a lovely story.

Lovely article, thank you!

Terrific story.

Wonderful story with heart...everyone who reads this story joins Ikuo's journey.

I saw the TV news story when the motorcycle was originally found on the coast of Western Canada and I am delighted to learn the owner was traced and is alive and well! It is a wonderful gesture on Harley-Davidson's part to rebuild the Harley and return it to Mr.Yokoyama, who lost so much in the earthquake and tsunami. That Mr. Yokoyama had chosen to ride a Harley-Davidson instead of the myriad of good Japanese motorcycles available to him says a lot about the man and I am proud that America can give a little bit of what he lost that terrible day back to him.

An amazing and very moving article.

What a great story! I love that "without a story, an object is meaningless."

What a great story! And an emotional one!

I loved that Harley Davidson repaired the bike. That is the sort of thing that makes us human beings.

I agree tangible objects can bring a flood of memories to come back, things that just remind us of someone else or another place. A time when we were different people.

Nice !

Wonderful to find people who treasure their loved items in this "throwaway" society that we live in. How amazing to actually be reunited with the motorbike and well done Harley Davidson. I would love to catch that documentary sometime.

Interesting how we develop relationships with objects and how other people can recognize that.

I understand very well how "things" can become "humanized". I cried when I traded in my last car. I felt like I was betraying him, abandoning him. I even named him (Austin). The story of the motorcycle is amazing. Well done Harley!

Chappell, your articles are also so meaningful and heartfelt. Thank you for bringing Yokoyama's bike and all 'lost' objects back to life once again.

I love this story! I'm working on a message-in-a-bottle project harnessing this same current, the North Pacific Sub-Tropical Gyre (aka Turtle Gyre) that moves in a loop between the West Coast of North America and Japan. Uniting my ceramic bottles and my friend Heather's poetry (poems she wrote in response to the tsunami in Japanese forms), we've created bottles we're both selling to raise funds for a mental health organization in Japan as well as eventually releasing some into the ocean - in hopes that they will reach the coast of Japan.

What a nice story! Lovely

like Arthur replied I am shocked that a student able to earn $9035 in four weeks on the internet. have you seen this web link N u t t y R i c h.c o m

I have a university thesis project going on at the moment. There are similar themes present. I am collecting stories of home. Have a look, maybe you would like to be part of the discussion. http://tsoam2012.wix.com/thestoryofamark

Fantastic!