Angela opened a box of natural curiosities from her childhood and found that some things didn't hold up well over time. A sand dollar had started to mold. The rock salt had dissolved on her mineral and rock identification card from 1961. It made me think of the millions of boxes of keepsakes stashed away in attics and basements, all the childhood drawings, the heaps of dated magazines, bins of unusable cords and adapters, vintage technology, musty furniture, all sitting in the dark, where time is left to the long, dutiful job of turning things into dust.