This letter opener belonged to my father. He used it to open each and every letter he received, not just the important ones, while I would rush to throw away the junky ones and tear open the ones addressed to me. This small mannerism says big things about father: how he saw potential in all things, even those that appeared to be junk; how he was thorough, and took time to do things properly and elegantly. Even though we don't use letters so much anymore, I keep this on my desk to remind me of my father and his way of being in the world.