How weird is that?

At the pawnshop, I often say that on Maui we end up with some strange items, because of people who travel the world and bring back stuff. Then they divorce, or die or get tired of it, and Kamaaina Loan gets it. But some items are stranger than they look at a first glance. The mantel set in the photo has been on the shelf for a while, and I never thought much about it, except to note that my Italian great-grandmother had a pair of urns somewhat in the same style, but bigger, and no clock. A couple days ago, Alex, who minds the store, asked me if I knew what they were. A closer look provided no clue to me, but Alex, who has a doctorate in ethnic studies, saw more. "It's kind of creepy," she said. "The urns are for ashes." For Mamma and Papa, presumably. It isn't easy to see in the photo, but the scenes are of donkeys. I don't know what it implies to store your parents' ashes in donkey urns.