As anyone that reads these postings knows, I love my old pictures and " artifacts. " The dictionary describes an artifact as an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest. I have a bunch of artifacts around the house. They are of historical interest to me anyway. I believe we all have those things, must of us call it stuff. It was this stuff I am thinking about this morning. I have had to say " see you later " to a few friends lately. By that I mean they have passed on, I don't say goodbye because I do believe I will see them again. Following their passing their stuff will have to be sorted through. I can't imagine what that must be like. I'm thinking I would be one of those folks that would have to leave things as they were. Either that or I would have to hire someone else to do it when I was out of sight, preferably in another state somewhere.
Occasionally I like to shop the junk shops. I can't afford to shop the antiques stores, antiques are memories with a monetary value. So I shop the junk stores. Junk stores are where a great deal of stuff winds up. The reality is they are discarded memories. The junk shops fascinate me for that very reason. You just never know what you may find there. As I say, I wouldn't say I am a big shopper or collector. It is just an occasional thought, a pastime usually inspired by wanting a specific item. I think the last time I went in search of an old fashioned juicer. You know, the glass kind that you just jam the orange over the center cone and begin to twist. I found one, for a dollar or two. An artifact undoubtedly from someone's home. It sits on top of my cabinet in the kitchen, a curiosity. It may have been precious to someone else, I can't know that but I like to think it was.
In my cabinet I have a small collection of coffee cups. They say, Grandpa, best Dad and the like on them. Some have never been used. It is those type of things that wind up in the junk shops. Artifacts or just stuff ? Memories to me, even when I don't remember exactly when I got them. Isn't that strange ? It is the same thing as when your Mom saved all your school stuff. I still have things from when my kids were in elementary school and they are forty two now. It is still just stuff to them. After I'm gone will they become artifacts ? That designation will be left up to them. Yes others get to choose whether your memories are saved or just discarded. It is in that I pause to contemplate my mortality. Who will preserve my memories ? Which ones will be discarded as junk ? It's a depressing thought isn't it ?
I have quite the collection of family photographs on the wall. I keep adding to it as the years go on. They are all related to me in some fashion. Yes there are a number of them that passed long before my time. There are some that have never set foot in America at any time. Some I have known and others I just heard the stories. All of that makes little difference to me. I just enjoy the " ambiance " it creates in my mind as I enter their world. I hope others find it inviting as well. I do like to sit, surrounded by these faces and recall the past. There is mystery there as well. I feel a sense of familiarity which each of these photographs, if not with the individual. It really is an ethereal thing, easily shattered by reality. There are times when I grow concerned for these artifacts and memories. I realize I won't always be here to care for them.
I don't expect someone to save everything I owned. I do have a lot of stuff, junk really just lying around. I hesitate to throw it away or dispose of in some fashion and I can't really say why. The go to excuse is, I might need that some day. Just why I might need a uniform item from twenty five years ago I can't imagine, but I might. I think if these items had monetary value and my heirs or descendants were to sell them after I'm gone that would be alright. That is simply because if someone is buying, that means they are keeping. No one buys stuff to throw away. It is in that I worry. My pictures and other artifacts that I value so highly have little to no monetary value. So, just who would keep them ? Why should they keep them is the real question ?
The truth is the stuff others feel an attachment to, will be saved. Oh, a lot will be saved early on when your memory is fresh. As the years pass and your memory fades, so too those attachments grow weaker. We are remembered as a singularity, but our memories are many. For that reason we can not expect others to remember everything. They have plenty of memories of their own.
How quickly and how strongly those attachments form is strictly an individual thing. That's the problem though. The way I feel about certain things is not going to be the same as the way you feel. No matter how much I try to impart those memories in your consciousness, they won't always stick. Memories get discarded. It's kinda depressing when you think about it. It is only depressing to ourselves though. Those still here will cherish whatever objects and memories are important to them and that is what matters most.
Occasionally I like to shop the junk shops. I can't afford to shop the antiques stores, antiques are memories with a monetary value. So I shop the junk stores. Junk stores are where a great deal of stuff winds up. The reality is they are discarded memories. The junk shops fascinate me for that very reason. You just never know what you may find there. As I say, I wouldn't say I am a big shopper or collector. It is just an occasional thought, a pastime usually inspired by wanting a specific item. I think the last time I went in search of an old fashioned juicer. You know, the glass kind that you just jam the orange over the center cone and begin to twist. I found one, for a dollar or two. An artifact undoubtedly from someone's home. It sits on top of my cabinet in the kitchen, a curiosity. It may have been precious to someone else, I can't know that but I like to think it was.
In my cabinet I have a small collection of coffee cups. They say, Grandpa, best Dad and the like on them. Some have never been used. It is those type of things that wind up in the junk shops. Artifacts or just stuff ? Memories to me, even when I don't remember exactly when I got them. Isn't that strange ? It is the same thing as when your Mom saved all your school stuff. I still have things from when my kids were in elementary school and they are forty two now. It is still just stuff to them. After I'm gone will they become artifacts ? That designation will be left up to them. Yes others get to choose whether your memories are saved or just discarded. It is in that I pause to contemplate my mortality. Who will preserve my memories ? Which ones will be discarded as junk ? It's a depressing thought isn't it ?
I have quite the collection of family photographs on the wall. I keep adding to it as the years go on. They are all related to me in some fashion. Yes there are a number of them that passed long before my time. There are some that have never set foot in America at any time. Some I have known and others I just heard the stories. All of that makes little difference to me. I just enjoy the " ambiance " it creates in my mind as I enter their world. I hope others find it inviting as well. I do like to sit, surrounded by these faces and recall the past. There is mystery there as well. I feel a sense of familiarity which each of these photographs, if not with the individual. It really is an ethereal thing, easily shattered by reality. There are times when I grow concerned for these artifacts and memories. I realize I won't always be here to care for them.
I don't expect someone to save everything I owned. I do have a lot of stuff, junk really just lying around. I hesitate to throw it away or dispose of in some fashion and I can't really say why. The go to excuse is, I might need that some day. Just why I might need a uniform item from twenty five years ago I can't imagine, but I might. I think if these items had monetary value and my heirs or descendants were to sell them after I'm gone that would be alright. That is simply because if someone is buying, that means they are keeping. No one buys stuff to throw away. It is in that I worry. My pictures and other artifacts that I value so highly have little to no monetary value. So, just who would keep them ? Why should they keep them is the real question ?
The truth is the stuff others feel an attachment to, will be saved. Oh, a lot will be saved early on when your memory is fresh. As the years pass and your memory fades, so too those attachments grow weaker. We are remembered as a singularity, but our memories are many. For that reason we can not expect others to remember everything. They have plenty of memories of their own.
How quickly and how strongly those attachments form is strictly an individual thing. That's the problem though. The way I feel about certain things is not going to be the same as the way you feel. No matter how much I try to impart those memories in your consciousness, they won't always stick. Memories get discarded. It's kinda depressing when you think about it. It is only depressing to ourselves though. Those still here will cherish whatever objects and memories are important to them and that is what matters most.
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