Bring Me Back A Keychain! -A Simple Request So Often Taken for Granted-

We live in a busy world - a crazy and busy world. In a time of cynicism and sarcasm, we take many things for granted. We take people, situations, moments, request, demands, and questions for granted. For about the past decade or so I’ve inadvertently conducted an experiment and it has led to quite the discovery.

When I was younger we used to travel and I’d always ask for ridiculous souvenirs. My parents kept me away from shot glasses, even though I found them to be precious, so I ended up with keychains, pens, those license plates with your name on it, and other random things. Somehow my mom got me into collecting keychains with my name on it – we found that finding a keychain with Alison spelled with only one “L” could be kind of a task, so it was like a fun game we’d play every place we went.

Then one day, someone – a friend, classmate, neighbor or such – went on a trip and I said to them before they left, “Bring me back a keychain.” I can’t remember if on that very first instance they brought me one or not, but my asking for one became commonplace when anyone told me of an upcoming trip. It also became common that if I were asked for one, I would return with a token for a friend.

I started noticing a strange pattern. The people I would least expect actually came through for me. I had an old friend’s, ex-girlfriend buy me a keychain from San Diego. I had a friend of the boy I used to babysit, bring me a keychain back from Las Vegas.

See, it’s a simple request, isn’t it? “Hey, bring me back a keychain!” Most keychains are five dollars or under, but it’s so often overlooked. I have had some of my best friends forget, or just not get one when I’ve asked. Some people actually think I’m joking or just being ridiculous with my request.

I believe this whole thing is a testament to the world we live in…seriously! In some ways, yes, it’s completely ridiculous…all of it. But when you can’t remember a simple request, or just don’t care to do something so small to brighten someone’s day, what does that say about us all? Right now I have so many keychains I get made fun of. They say one day my transmission will become angry with me because they’re so heavy and there are so damn many!

I have keychains from places all over the world. My friend in the Air Force sent me keychains from Holland, Rome, and Germany. I got some in Ireland when I was there. A co-worker brought me one from El Salvador and my boss gave me one from the Bahamas. Currently I have keychains from Key West, Baltimore, Colorado, Hawaii, New Orleans, Seattle, Kentucky, and Amish Country accompanying various sets of keys. Most of these have been gifts in one sense or another, and all of them have sentimental value and meaning.

I think that this universe is filled with positivity and negativity. We have so many obstacles to get through, so many frowns, so many triumphs to make and so many smiles. If the simple act of bringing back a keychain can increase that positivity and keep the smiles flowing, why not just do it? Sure, this may all be quite silly, perhaps seemingly inconsequential, but just think about it! It’s quite the social study isn’t it? So the next time someone hears about your next trip and says, “Bring me back a keychain,” if you have the extra 5 bucks, maybe think about grabbing them a little something that really says, “hey, I thought about you while I was away…see?” It’s the little things in life!