AMUSEMENT

2020 ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

"What worn-out possession is dearest to you, and why?"

First Prize: $300

When I was 6, I had major leg surgery. Finally, the day came to get the casts that stretched from the tips of my toes to the top of my hips removed. The sound of the cast saw coming from the other room was as loud as that of any lumberjack to a little girl. The buzzing, whirring, and whining got louder with every passing moment, until I broke out in tears. As the tears spread down my face, I noticed a woman coming to my side. With delicate fingers, she opened her purse and removed a white hanky and placed it in my hand. She said, "This is my Hanky of Courage. Sometimes things come along in our lives that call for a little more courage. I can see that you are a brave girl, but please keep this and let it give you a boost of courage to face your fears." I held on to that wonderful hanky and made it through that tough day, and it has been a treasure that I have kept with me for 52 years. –Vickie L. Sargent-Kler, Zephyrhills, Florida

Second Prize: $200

In 1941, my father served in the U.S. Army in Tunis, North Africa. While there, he fashioned a ring from the aluminum of a downed enemy plane. He came home alive and wore the shiny ring until his death in 1962. As a family, we were lost in blinding grief that slowly faded but never really passed. Ma trusted me with his ring, which became my touchstone, the band wrapped in white adhesive to fit a boy's slight finger. Over the years, people would ask about it, and I would take a breath and recall his short life.

I lost the ring on the Appalachian Trail and could not forgive myself. It found me a few years later from a deep pocket in my pack. We celebrated like father and son. But, like everything, possessions wear down with use. The script "Tunis, North Africa, 1941" became barely legible. The ring now stays in a box on the bureau. I open it up from time to time and remember and settle. This possession never lets me down. –Michael Wing, West Gardiner, Maine