shakers. About 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. A chosen few of them grace my kitchen. Most of them reside in three boxes down in my cellar. I don't have room for 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. That's partly because I have too many books and radios. Yes, it's true, and I'll admit it. I am a collector of books and radios. Nice books. Old radios. I have twenty-two old radios now. I have no idea how many books I have. Not enough though. Need more. Always need more. And right there is the thing: why do I need more? What is this collecting urge that I - we - have? Why do we feel the need to stock up on things that we really don't need? Why do we surround ourselves with multiple variations on the same item? It doesn't make sense, yet we do it all the same. And we've been doing it for a long time. The Medici of Renaissance Italy collected art. The Ptolemies of ancient Egypt collected books and created the largest library in the world. Cave men probably collected rocks or animal teeth or some such thing. So why do I collect radios and books? Well, I do it because I like radios and books. That's it really. I can't give any better reason than that. That's really all there is to it. You find something that you like, that the mere sight of brings pleasure, and you get it. Then you get another cuz if one is good then two is better. Then another. And another. Now you have a collection. Careful, it'll grow on you. Soon, you'll be stalking the aisles of flee markets and swap meets looking for that perfect something to complete your collection, which is bunk of course. Your collection will never be complete. There will always be just one more piece that you need to get. And that's where the fun is - the looking.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Collecting Bug
My grandmother collected salt and pepper shakers. That's right. The novelty kind. She did it for years. Her kids joined the military, travelled the country and the world, and sent her salt and pepper shakers from all over the place. Somehow - and I am not really sure how this happened - out of all of the grand kids, I got the salt and pepper 
shakers. About 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. A chosen few of them grace my kitchen. Most of them reside in three boxes down in my cellar. I don't have room for 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. That's partly because I have too many books and radios. Yes, it's true, and I'll admit it. I am a collector of books and radios. Nice books. Old radios. I have twenty-two old radios now. I have no idea how many books I have. Not enough though. Need more. Always need more. And right there is the thing: why do I need more? What is this collecting urge that I - we - have? Why do we feel the need to stock up on things that we really don't need? Why do we surround ourselves with multiple variations on the same item? It doesn't make sense, yet we do it all the same. And we've been doing it for a long time. The Medici of Renaissance Italy collected art. The Ptolemies of ancient Egypt collected books and created the largest library in the world. Cave men probably collected rocks or animal teeth or some such thing. So why do I collect radios and books? Well, I do it because I like radios and books. That's it really. I can't give any better reason than that. That's really all there is to it. You find something that you like, that the mere sight of brings pleasure, and you get it. Then you get another cuz if one is good then two is better. Then another. And another. Now you have a collection. Careful, it'll grow on you. Soon, you'll be stalking the aisles of flee markets and swap meets looking for that perfect something to complete your collection, which is bunk of course. Your collection will never be complete. There will always be just one more piece that you need to get. And that's where the fun is - the looking.
shakers. About 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. A chosen few of them grace my kitchen. Most of them reside in three boxes down in my cellar. I don't have room for 300 sets of salt and pepper shakers. That's partly because I have too many books and radios. Yes, it's true, and I'll admit it. I am a collector of books and radios. Nice books. Old radios. I have twenty-two old radios now. I have no idea how many books I have. Not enough though. Need more. Always need more. And right there is the thing: why do I need more? What is this collecting urge that I - we - have? Why do we feel the need to stock up on things that we really don't need? Why do we surround ourselves with multiple variations on the same item? It doesn't make sense, yet we do it all the same. And we've been doing it for a long time. The Medici of Renaissance Italy collected art. The Ptolemies of ancient Egypt collected books and created the largest library in the world. Cave men probably collected rocks or animal teeth or some such thing. So why do I collect radios and books? Well, I do it because I like radios and books. That's it really. I can't give any better reason than that. That's really all there is to it. You find something that you like, that the mere sight of brings pleasure, and you get it. Then you get another cuz if one is good then two is better. Then another. And another. Now you have a collection. Careful, it'll grow on you. Soon, you'll be stalking the aisles of flee markets and swap meets looking for that perfect something to complete your collection, which is bunk of course. Your collection will never be complete. There will always be just one more piece that you need to get. And that's where the fun is - the looking.
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