Lost a pair of nail clippers when we moved into our new house recently. Nothing special about them mechanically, they do a serviceable job.

Now the reason it even registers on my radar is that these clippers were purchased on my first day in Innsbruck, Austria back in the summer of 2003. Went with a group of friends for a study-abroad program and spent ~2 months living and going to school there. Classes Monday-Thursday, an unrestricted Eu-rail pass for the weekends. The memories associated with my first time traveling internationally while visiting most of western Europe (including missing a day of class because of trying to get back from a trip to visit the beaches @ Normandy) are something I'll never forget; I can truly say that trip helped to mold a portion of who I am today. The clippers themselves are nothing that can't be replaced, yet here I sit lamenting what happened to them and wishing I knew there whereabouts. How stupid is that?

So what say you? What silly/insignificant item have you lost that resulted in more than it's fair share of heartache or worry?

Not a sentimental loss, but an annoying one. I left a ThruNite Ti5 flashlight in a Japan hotel room. Of course it's been discontinued. The ThruNight Ti3 replacement I bought isn't nearly as good.

I lost a pen-sized click eraser at a customer site once. Dropped it in the hall after a meeting while carrying a laptop, mouse, notepad, and a mechanical pencil. It was disappeared within minutes of noticing it was gone when I got back to the dirty radioactive coat closet of a cube assigned to several consultants contractors.

That stupid click eraser was one of two that got me through two botched attempts at an engineering major and then completing a BS in MIS ... and then 19-20 years of work.

I left a pair of nice small fishing pliers on the rail of a pier once. Nice stainless parallel jaws with a wire cutter.
Discovered them missing a couple of days later and apparently they stayed put for 24hrs or so until someone figured I wasn't coming back.

Not a special thing but I really liked those pliers.

Years ago my house was burglarized, lost a bunch of jewelry and a rolex. But what really pissed me off was my collection of wheat pennies and WW2 zinc pennies that I had found over the years working at our gas station.

Sentiment means everything to me.

Well, when I was eight days old...

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Well, when I was eight days old...

And they took the end of your "one toy"?

I feel that I am far too sentimental sometimes. I have a lot of stuff that I feel some connection to, or have a memory with.

Doesn't bother me, usually - until I lose something.

A brass keyfob I got in college. It went missing for 9 months (in the toe of winter boots). It really burned my ass that it was gone, likely had it 15 years.

I use it to keep all my second keys on now. Stupid to attach sentimental value to an $8 brass University mascot I guess, but there it is.

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
A brass keyfob I got in college. It went missing for 9 months (in the toe of winter boots). It really burned my ass that it was gone, likely had it 15 years.

I use it to keep all my second keys on now. Stupid to attach sentimental value to an $8 brass University mascot I guess, but there it is.

I keep my keys on a key ring I've thirty years. Probably cost 50¢ or less, had it since 2nd or third grade. Attached to that key ring is a give away that came with a Polo jacket 20 years ago, the Polo logo came off over a decade ago. I'd be upset if I lost them.

Just lost my EDC flashlight on Thursday. A four or five year old Fenix that has survived a brutal repeated beating over the years, $60 to replace. I really wanted to find its breaking point. Guess I'll have to start abusing a new one.

Lost a neoprene eyeglasses case with a velcro closure on the end that I found under the seat of a Karmann Ghia that belonged to my dad. And the Ghia is long gone, as well.

On the flip side of losing sentimental stuff, my ex-wife gave my dil (they both live in California) some memorabilia she found when she was moving.

She found a pair of my Spec 4 and Spec 5 pins from my stint in the Army. I'm sure you can still buy them, but to have the ones I wore was a nice surprise.

Divorcing the devils daughter cost me everything .... Started life over with the clothes on my back .....
My folks on dvd tape is the worst i lost.

Back in 2016 we flooded with a little over 4 feet of water in the house . ALL of our photo albums were in a cabinet that went under . A Bible that belonged to my Mother , ALL of my genealogy research material , and the list goes on and on . What didn't flood got stolen by the crew that was gutting out the house . Too much going on to watch everybody at once . What really hurt was a Rubbermaid box that was full of knives that I had collected including two that were purchased for my grandchildren and one that was given to me by my wife's grandfather . I know it was stolen because it was on a closet shelf . Things like that can't be replaced with any amount of money .

This should not be a big deal, but i had a ball cap the said OH-1 on the front, with my last name on the back. I got it when I went to work part-time for NDMS in 2000. I loved that hat. I must have left it somewhere this past spring. It had beem to Guam, Haiti, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, the Red River floods, and another half-dozen or so hurricanes. It was like a tour of my time with NDMS.