A Letter For A Spool of Wire
And the attachment we have to physical things
This is going to be my most intangible or abstract letter yet. I stumbled across this video on Reddit and I’ve watched it a bunch this week.
It tugs at my soul in a way that makes me attached to the spool of wire, even though it’s not MY spool of wire. I too have objects like this spool of wire in my own collection of trinkets/materials and they are special to me.
This man is having an emotional moment with an inanimate object because he has a deep relationship with that object. When the spool first entered into his life 40 years ago he probably didn’t think much of it. He bought it at a hardware store for a project he was doing and it was just a commodity and useful thing he needed to create something.
At the time the spool of wire was just a material or small piece of a puzzle. Eventually over time, 40 long years, the wire became involved in lots of other projects big and small. A MacGyver fix to a fence latch, floating the rebar for a concrete sidewalk, jimmy-rigging something to a trailer, you get the idea.
Every time he used that wire to make something new or fix something and make it as good as new he built a stronger connection to it.
As we move through life these items become a part of our story and journey. They weave their usefulness into our lived experience, they become one with it.
This guy is thinking about all those projects and experiences and the usefulness of the wire spool all at once. Streaming through his mind are all the things he was able to do with it and then relating those things back to moments in his life that were memorable.
He’s mourning.
His time with that spool is over and he’s just giving it its rightfully deserved gratitude for being with him those 40 years and playing its part in his life and his families’ life.
It’s not something to laugh at. Although this video is a great ending to the story because in a way it memorializes it and puts a great cap on the end of it. Tiktok and smartphones and the internet will allow that moment to live forever.
The video is a beautiful example of paradox in that the wife makes a joke of it even though the man is deeply moved and emotional. Oftentimes those moments of paradox produce the most memorable and longest lasting memories.
On behalf of the man, and all men who cherish their useful materials, thank you spool of wire. We owe you and all items like you a deep amount of gratitude.
With love and deep appreciation,
-Andrew