Saturday, January 3, 2009

A Generous Gift of Bugs

My friend Daves is one of those amazing gift givers. Over the years I’ve received some lovely things from him—a tiny Smythson of Bond Street leather travel folio, a Swedish amber ring, a plane ticket to Barcelona—but this year’s Christmas gift may be the most unusual: a Lucite bracelet with real beetles in it. It’s my favorite combination of gorgeous and bizarre, and I feel so… so fuerte when I wear it. I’ve always had a scarab fetish—oh yeah; add a carved turquoise scarab from Egypt to my list of great gifts from Daves—so it’s nice to have scarabish beetles circling my wrist when I write. Behold:

Daves is also Juliet’s Godfather, an excellent score for her. His first gift? A chic infant-sized red leather jacket. With this bond, I have secured her a lifetime of amazing gifts. This Christmas Daves gave her a stunning display of bugs, including a glorious giant scorpion. I suppose you’d have to know Juliet to understand how cool this is to her. Like the Lucite bracelet (and, in my opinion, all good things) it’s both gorgeous and bizarre.

Though seemingly lowly, Beetles are great animal totems. They represent metamorphosis, creation, resurrection, rebirth—perfect for starting a new year. Beetles bring new life and vitality and they can teach you how to pace yourself through the seasonal changes of the year. I sense my beetle bracelet will come in very handy in the depressing depths of February...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bring on the beetles!

Graeme Stone said...

Wow. I'm not much on insects in general, but beetles, with their irridescence, have always amazed me. The ring is to die for. And Daves, I'm sorry I've been spelling you 'Davis.' Why?! Why did no one correct me? It's like that moment in middle school when you realize you've been calling the teacher by the wrong name, and she's not Mrs. Smith, but MISS Smythe. How, how did I go so wrong.
Back to the Insect Board. Really incredible. I think it's the arrangement and the size of the insects that really impresses.

Kelly Hudgins said...

Anna would KILL for Juliet's display, as I would for the bracelet.

Fuerte indeed. I want.

Katie Anderson said...

C- you never cease to amaze me!! And I'm with Graeme- I've been spelling Daves wrong. Yikes! Forgive me.

I loved the last bit about what beetles represent :-)

Christy Raedeke said...

No, you guys aren't wrong - "Daves" is just my nickname for him. My other best friend was Jules so I had Jules and Daves. What can I say? I like symmetry.