The Worm Box

Day 316: What do you give a child on their first birthday? Well, I received a set of World Book Encyclopedias (first person who says, "Yeah, we could tell..." is going to get smacked in the eye) and a small ceramic planter in the shape of a big green worm wearing a top hat, a cactus installed in the center of his back. That gift began a collection which multiplied over the years with purchases and gifts from friends and relatives.

A few mishaps along the way reduced the numbers by a small margin; my best friend's cat ate one of the smallest worms and several others went missing during a move. Some were eventually replaced, and although perhaps the colors were different, you could see that the "worm" had been cast in a duplicate mold. More modern additions are resin, plastic or metal; ceramics are difficult to find. The keen-eyed among my readers will spot a few anomalies here: kitties, a few birds, a sheep, but this is the Worm Box, whoever may live in its apartments, and many of its residents are only a few years younger than the one who placed them in their cubbyholes. To this day, I still love caterpillars, and I still have the original worm in a top hat given to me on my first birthday.