Stuff We Wished We Had Kept

     Everyone has some possession from their youth which they wished they had kept for posterity. The classic one for guys from the 1960s and 1970s would be their baseball cards. These were items which were purchased five cards to a pack at places like the Corner Store for a nickel and included a stick of gum. I actually still have some of these cards and have been giving them away as gifts for years now. I have encased each one in a plastic holder so they maintain their shape and value. Lucky for me these cards give me the same joy whether I still possess them or not. There is something about knowing you have given someone a good gift that stays with you forever. 

       One thing I didn't save even though I carried them around for years were my record albums. I started collecting them in 1973. My first purchases were Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon, The Allman Brothers' Brothers and Sisters, Grand Funk's We're An American Band, and Don McLean's American Pie. They all made it into the 21st century even though I had nothing to play them on but didn't survive my last move into New York City in 2002. It makes me slightly nostalgic now to see turntables for LPs with USB connections, but the site of these modern marvels don't cause me any regrets. The albums served their purpose and were mostly dust collectors in the end, many were warped and scratched. The artwork on the album covers themselves was the last redeeming feature these old LPs possessed.


     I suppose I am not much of a hoarder or else I would be able to rattle off more stuff that I did keep. A quick look around my office and I spy the first Bible given to me by the Upper Ridgewood Community Church, my high school Yearbook, some photo albums, and a Sportsman flashlight. They are all next to one another on a shelf, as if to neatly remind me of stuff I'm glad I kept.