Ever since the day I first walked into my dorm in Jameson-Mead – located in the beautiful Keeney Quad – as a freshman, I knew that Brown was going to be the most interesting place I’ve ever lived. It’s not often that one is graced with the sight of a pair of underwear that is certainly not theirs, nor their lover’s, right in front of their door on move-in day, with their parents present.
The sights only got stranger. A few months into my college career, I was walking to pick up my daily package of random things from Amazon that I didn’t need, and I saw a curious yellow substance on the sidewalk. Upon further inspection, I realized it was an entire stack of untouched Swiss (?) cheese, without the packaging.
My first instinct was to pull out my phone and document the event. This cheese conjured up a whole host of emotions, but most of all, it conjured nostalgia and deserved to be remembered as such. I was reminded of The Cheese Touch™ from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, one of my favorite eras of elementary school. Former Brown student Robert Capron, the actor who played Rowley, must have been lurking near Waterman Street.
Next, I found a banana hanging from the stair railings in Keeney. I thought about this banana’s story. Under what circumstances did it find itself hanging limply above the Jameson-Mead basement? Or perhaps, which drunk college student forced that fate upon it?
The poor thing was already turning Brown.
The very next day, after the Banana incident, I happened upon a slightly open carton of milk on the floor.
I thought nothing of it. In fact, it was rather cute. It stayed there for about a week, and there was a strange, silent agreement between my hallmates that no one would pick it up.
On yet another journey to the mailroom, after I had just finished a delirium-filled lunch of “Tacos” at the Ratty, I happened upon an empty, used, ceramic plate right outside Page-Robinson Hall. I speculated about the plate’s origins. Had I brought it from the Ratty unknowingly? Should I be taking back?
And last, but certainly not least, my most recent Sophomore year discovery.
I was starving after a long, hard day of procrastination, and I just wanted Jo’s. However, right before I entered the dining hall, my friend pointed out a strange lump of fabric. It seemed that someone had left a pair of very nice pants on the street. Whether they were abandoned or forgotten, or perhaps thrown out of the window above by an angry girlfriend, we will simply never know.
I live in anticipation of what my next discovery will be. A suit jacket on Thayer Street? Maybe a ceramic cup on the steps of the Rock? Who’s to say, but I know that my camera will be ready either way 🙂