what you see depends on what you seek
My father kept a vintage phone and a box I was told, as a child, is a camera. It says Brownie on it. Everybody asked whether they work. ‘That depends’ — and they’re compelled to inquire: on what. On what you’re looking for.
Mother’s answer made more sense. They’re good for collecting dust—and questions. But I knew she knew another reason, the one my father kept.
Today I have the camera and a sense of the answer my mother knew. I was looking for something of my father. Not hardware. The answer at which others shrug is not easily ignored. It depends on what you’re looking for.
