So Long, Little Tin Pin

It's just a little piece of bendable metal. For 42 years, the white M on a colored circle has been the wearable token that let you roam through the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And while there was a recycle box at the exit , most of us kept all those colorful little pins. Collect 'em all! That was my motto.

But now, the Met is retiring the pins for economic reasons, switching to throw-away-able paper stickers. Sigh. The march of progress, I guess.

I spent the afternoon in the Met. When I walked in and showed my membership card, the woman at the desk handed me a purple metal button and said, "The last one." I almost teared up. Yes, silly, I know. But that iconic M stamped on a colorful disk has been a friendly little piece of art and proof that I was keeping up my culture quotient.

I have a little wooden box filled with lots of pin colors, though by no means all of them. Every once in a while, I find one or two in the bottom on a purse. Now, I will cherish this very last purple button.

So long, little tin pin.