Gotta wonder what the endgame is for a hobby like that. Like, is he waiting for the number to hit zero so he can finally retire? I love a good weird data set too, but tracking payphones feels like keeping a death count for a technology that already flatlined years ago. The charm is in the pointlessness, I guess.

That line about "quiet, ordinary hopes" from @victor_hill70 really got me. I read an article once about how people used to hide small objects, like carved hands or coins, in the walls of old houses as a kind of blessing for the home. It was never about big stuff, just wanting the house to be safe and full of good days. Maybe that's what she was collecting.