Everyone has lots of useless crap. My parents moved to Australia six years ago for a three year work term. At the time of the move, they decided that they would keep most of their stuff in storage here in Canada because there was no use in hauling all of that stuff over the Pacific if they were only going to be in Australia for three years. Six years later they’re still overseas, and they have absolutely no idea what they left in storage. It’s funny because they completely filled a storage locker, like those big ones you see being loaded on and off of ships. They literally have tonnes of stuff in there, and no real inkling as to what any of it is.I was reminded of this as I prepare to move tomorrow. I have a lot of really stupid stuff, that I in no way, shape, or form need, but I am unwilling to part with. For example, a bag full of Australian coins totally about $3AU. Or two lighsabers, one Luke’s from The Return of the Jedi, and the other Darth Vader’s. I also have Darth Maul’s double sided lightsaber, yet it holds no real nostalgic value for me.
While I’m sure that at no time in the future I will required a 12″ GI Joe with a motor bike, I still find myself packing him safely away. Then I’m going to make the effort to carry him down three flights of stairs, load him into a moving van, drive him halfway across town, take him off of the moving van, and place him in a box, in my basement. I know this to be true. I probably won’t see him again for at least two years, and when I find him, I guarantee I’ll be looking for something else. Knowing this, I still cannot bring myself to part with this hidden gem of the toy world.
I wonder what sort of instinct it is, bred into us from a very early age, that lets us place value in such completely useless crap. You could fill an entire storage locker with stuff you simply don’t need, but it’s not enough. I imagine my parents already have a pretty healthy dose of new crap to haul with them from Australia back to Canada.
No wonder people are building such large homes nowadays. They need them for all of their garbage.
