Why are we collectors?
Is it an attempt to feel more connected, more permanent in this world? Do things make us more significant? Define us?
Why do I have a frisbee from the USS Intrepid that I visited at the age of 11 and a program from the Barnum & Bailey Circus from when I was 6? I remember the smell of the Hudson, the taste of cotton candy. Do I need the things from these places to connect?
I still have the Sports Illustrated magazine outlining the events and US hopefuls for the 1984 Olympics - back when Summer and Winter were held in the same year. Is it so I can remember that my girl scout troop came over to my house to watch the opening ceremonies and my mom made Sloppy Joe's for all of us? Am I trying to recapture the connection I felt with the world at the precise moment the torch was lit?
I've lived without these things in boxes for years. Why should I hold on to them? So I can continue to own stuff?
Really, it's just owning me.
2 comments:
You keep these "keep sakes" so that one day when a good friend or someone you know has a mile marker event in their life you can dump all the stuff on them and call it at "time capsule".
shit - i kept the damn time capsule you gave me for the wedding. and it was the best present ever, dammit.
wait until you get married, my friend... i've got you planned already.
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