Hang on, before you start reading the caption on the picture and assume that this is an apology to someone. It is not. This is actually a story, conceived by the photographer of this photo, and it had been floating around cyberspace for quite some time before I encountered it on Facebook from a post by a friend of mine. The story speaks about the interaction between 2 pieces of inconspicuous stationeries that most people will use every now and then but probably will not put too much thought into.
Pencil: I'm sorry
Eraser: For what? You didn't do anything wrong.
Pencil: I'm sorry cause you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.
Eraser: That's true. But I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though one day, I know I'll be gone and you'll replace me with a new one, I'm actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad. :)
A Red Paperclip Project
Many people have self-defined boundaries and would rarely want to step out of their comfort zone. Well, who can blame them for being afraid of the unknown and stepping into uncharted territories? However, what if you could really set yourself free of any known confines and venture outside?
Kyle MacDonald started an audacious project in 2005 was able to do 14 barter trades starting from a single red paperclip all the way up till a decent house located at 503 Main Street in Kipling Saskatchewan in less than a year.
- On July 14, 2005, he went to Vancouver and traded the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen.
- He then traded the pen the same day for a hand-sculpted doorknob from Seattle, Washington, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".
- On July 25, 2005, he traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts, with a friend to trade the Knob-T for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
- On September 24, 2005, he went to San Clemente, California, and traded the camp stove for a Honda generator.
- On November 16, 2005, he made a second (and successful) attempt (after having the generator confiscated by the New York City Fire Department) in Maspeth, Queens, to trade the generator for an "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.
- On December 8, 2005, he traded the "instant party" to Quebec comedian and radio personality Michel Barrette for a Ski-doo snowmobile.
- Within a week of that, he traded the snowmobile for a two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia, in February 2006.
- On or about January 7, 2006, the second person on the trip to Yahk traded Kyle a cube van for the privilege.
- On or about February 22, 2006, he traded the cube van for a recording contract with Metal Works in Toronto.
- On or about April 11, 2006, he traded the recording contract to Jody Gnant for a year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
- On or about April 26, 2006, he traded the one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.
- On or about May 26, 2006, he traded the one afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS motorized snow globe.
- On or about June 2, 2006, he traded the KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.
- On or about July 5, 2006, he traded the movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
Moral: You will never achieve what you wanted if you never do what you never did.
