The Wisdom of Found Objects

The Hindu deity Ganesh, known as the remover of obstacles.

When I was in my 20's, I collected objects I found on the sidewalks of Los Angeles. One of my earliest finds was a hand-written letter from a mother to her incarcerated son explaining why she wouldn’t bail him out of jail. “I can get the money,” she wrote. “But you need to learn a lesson. You need to save yourself.” I felt as if the note was intended for me.