Yeah, it's like @karen405 said, the notes are the real story. I see this all the time with old letters or even notes in used books. People leave bits of their lives in the margins without even trying, and that's what makes things last. Those personal marks are what we actually hold onto.

Totally with your plant club on this one. My spider plant perked up noticeably after I started complaining about my neighbor's loud music to it.

Got a good laugh out of this, mostly because I've been that new guy before. I mean, I once tried to check a fitting with a lighter instead of soapy water, so I get the mindset. For teaching, I found making them watch old safety videos of what happens when things go wrong really drives it home. Scares the stupid right out of you.