Captain's Log Box

March 13, 2010 (Evening). Encountered some driftwood while steering the steamer down the Allegheny this afternoon. Was afraid it'd get caught in the paddle wheel, so we pushed away what we could and scooped up the littler stuff with nets. One of the crew shouted, "Hey, Skipper! What d'ya make of this?" To my surprise, he was holding this quaint case - a novelty that's been constructed of plaster and paper mâché, and has the texture, color, and appearance of a miniature log! Heck, it even has some moss-like material attached around the little stubs where branches may once have grown. It looks so real, made me wonder if someone accidentally tossed it out with some scrap timber. Then, I opened it up to find that both halves of the thing were hollowed out as though someone could store something in there. Say - I don't know - necklaces, or rings, or pens, or pencils, or somethin'. Think I'll take it home to my niece so she can store her tiny treasures in it.