Marvin's Records

Vinyl record collection at student-run CKMS station at the University of Waterloo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        From the title of this post one might expect a story about a store called "Marvin's Records."   My dear friend since high school, Marvin, would love to have owned a record store.  He used to talk about it a lot when we were younger and had more time to dream.  His dream even captivated me.  A record store seemed like a great business to run--selling our favorite things while listening to music all day.  What a dream job that would have been!

         As things turned out, neither one of us ever opened a record store or even worked in one.  I went my way which kept me touring with a stage show for years and then later managing a costume supply company.  Marvin worked a series of jobs mostly in manufacturing industries.  He stayed in Tennessee while my destiny landed me in Los Angeles.  We both married and started families and bought houses to settle down in lives a couple thousand miles from each other--literally worlds apart.  But there was one common bond that remained between us--a love for music.

        In high school, as our friendship developed starting in senior math class where we sat next to each other at the back of the classroom, we began to share our common interest in popular music.  We had both begun collecting records, modestly due to financial constraints, and we'd talk about the music we owned and that which we hoped someday to own.

         As the years went by we both started amassing fair sized collections.   There were some albums that were so essential that we both owned copies.  Then there were the many albums found in cut-out bins or purchased according our individual tastes.  The ones that he had that I didn't--and vice versa--we each took a keen interest in.  Still there are albums of his that I remember listening to that I'd like to hear again but they are difficult to find even on YouTube or Amazon.  Mostly those were the cut-out albums.  I had a good collection of vinyl and Marvin had an equally good collection.  We both took good care of our albums.

          Now I've sold most of my collection and kept my absolute favorites which amounts to maybe 100 to 200 albums.  Trying to downsize you know.  The other day when I was talking to Marvin on the phone, I asked about his record collection.  He said he still had all of his old albums, but, like me, didn't listen to them other than on very rare occasions.   Marvin thought he might decide to start selling them on EBay, but wasn't sure. I know the feeling.  It was hard for me to part with so much of my vinyl.  I still think about some of those albums that got sold.  And I think of Marvin's record collection.  So many hours spent with great music listening.

          If there really were a store called Marvin's Records and my friend Marvin owned it, he could just put his old collection in inventory.  Sure, so much music can be downloaded on a computer or other gadgets that the technology of media storage is evolving to the point where maybe someday there won't be stores that sell recorded music.   However the upside is that vinyl has seen a resurgence and record stores have been opening in many places.  Vinyl still has a lot of fans.

           Maybe there is still hope for Marvin's Records.   Ah, what a great job just listening to music all day while you do the work you do in a record store.   It could happen you know.

            Is there a certain type of store that you've long dreamed of opening?   Have you ever or do you now own a store of any kind?     Do you have a collection of something that you might like to turn into cash?

The Library of my Life

A shelf in my home office.

        When I walk around my house I can see books in nearly every room.  In fact there are books hidden away that I can't even see.  There are books in my writing office, every bedroom, the hallway, the living room, dining room, garage, and even the kitchen where a number of cookbooks as well as other miscellaneous books sit in a top shelf of one of the cabinets.  Most of the books sit neatly on shelves while some are in stacks since my shelf spaces long ago became filled.  And I have no more room for more book shelves.  I suppose I could almost say that my house has nearly reached saturation point as far as books go.

         Gazing over all of my books I can see the story of my life told by this library.  The book that I've owned longest is a King James Version of the Holy Bible given to me by Reverend Frank Van Valen from the Penn Hills Free Methodist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1958 when I was seven years old.  I also still have a book of religious artwork given to me at about the same time.  Both of these are books that I've referred to many times in my life.

         Those are not the first books I ever owned.  The first books were several Little Golden Books that I can still picture in my mind.  It's too bad that I don't still have those books, but those disappeared long ago, probably when I felt that I had outgrown them.  They were treasures to me when I was small.

Many of  these books on this shelf in my late
mother's home are now in my own home.

         Starting at about age ten I began to amass a library of Tom Swift and Hardy Boys books.  Those were my favorite books in my pre-adolescent years.  Most of that collection was given away to some younger neighbor kid perhaps or maybe sold at a yard sale.  However I still do have a few of these left, now residing in book stacks in my home office. I've actually reread some of these in recent years. Such memories of wonderful reading experiences relived over fifty years later.

         In my early teen years I began to buy books through the Doubleday One Dollar Book Club.  The introductory offer of twelve books for ninety-nine cents was a boon to expanding my library. The obligatory later purchases assured a steady growth in my book collection to the point that my parents bought me book shelves for my bedroom.  I read a lot during junior high and never lacked reading material in my ever growing personal library.

      Soon I was joining other Doubleday Book Clubs such as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Club and the Mystery Book Club.  I had become obsessed with reading and building my own personal library of books.  Many of these have since been dispersed in the same way as my earlier books, but I also still have many of these fine books still on my shelves today. I was relatively discriminating about which books I got rid of and now consider the remaining books worth keeping.

      College brought about a new onslaught of books--both textbooks and books that I bought because I was interested in them.   Throughout my adult years I have continued to buy books.  When I was on the road, bookstores were regular stops for me as I continually kept up with newer books that I had heard about or classics that I wanted to read.  Each year at the end of the tour, more books would go into storage.  I still have many of those books in my collection.

       All through my life I have bought books. Buying books became not only a habit for me, but a necessary passion.  If I had money, I would buy books.  Often I would not get around to reading the books which now means I have a lot of books still to read.  

       Now I can peruse my collection of books and remember how I came upon almost every one of them.  My books are like a gallery of the history of my life.  The physicality of these books are points in my past, eras of my interests, and memories of my reading pleasures.  My personal library says as much or more about who I am as anything else that I own.   These books are a big part of me.

        Have you amassed a personal library?    Do you think of your books as a part of your history?  Are there any special books that particularly define who you are or who you were at some past time?

Related articles

• Little Golden Books Are a Treasured Classic
• It Is a Golden Year...

Letting Go of Stuff

Gramophone / Phonograph / Record Player - Engines in Enginuity, Coalbrookdale (Photo credit: ell brown)

   
      We've been talking about the material accumulations of our past.  In the last post the topic was magazines.  I've had to get rid of so many magazines over the years and have many more that now I must decide upon.  Most of us just don't have the room to keep everything we've ever owned, nor do we need to keep much of the stuff of our past.

           Let's face it.  Most stuff is just that--stuff.   Our amassed stowages are often of little real value.  Our perceived treasure is another man's trash.  Deciding what to keep and what goes out the door can sometimes be a dilemma, but sometimes those difficult decisions have to be made.  What things are the things you should keep?

           Some of the things to keep are obvious.  Things of true monetary value, irreplaceable heirlooms that will be treasured by future generations, or items of potential historical importance are probably worth hanging onto.  But what about the sentimental keepsakes?   Or the things that we can attach to specific eras of our lives?

          The many thousands of books, cassettes, videos, vinyl records, CD's, and DVD's that I own are something that I've started taking into strong consideration in recent years.  If I were to move they would be just something else I'd have to pack and carry with me.  If my wife and I ever downsize our living space, keeping these items would most likely be out of the question.  Would I miss them?  I probably would at times, but these are the sorts of losses that I can live with.  After all I can't take my stuff with me when I leave this world.  And will anybody want these relics of outdated technology when I've departed?

           I can remember when I got rid of all of my models and model kits when I was in college.  This was the passion of my early teen years and represented so many hours of pleasure.  Years later I sometimes regret having gotten rid of those things.  For one thing there could be some monetary value in them.   Maybe.  The fact is though that I couldn't hang onto those boxes of things and my parents wanted the boxes moved out of their house.  I can understand that.  Too much of anything requires downsizing.

         Then there was my American Flyer electric train set that I sold for $100 back in 1977.  That was an extensive set that my parents had added to every Christmas starting in 1956.  When I sold it I needed the money more than I needed the train set and the boxes were taking up space in a storage area at my parents house.  The train set wasn't being used anymore so what was the point of keeping it.  Now I've seen some of the individual train cars online selling for more than the price I sold the whole set for.  I might be making a fortune selling the set off now, but that would have meant keeping all of it for many years.  If I had only known, but sometimes we just don't think of those things.

      What do I get rid of next?  My stamp collection?  A lot of good memories there, but my research tells me that you don't get much out of stamp collections.  My collection is taking up the equivalent of about five medium size storage boxes in my closet.  I haven't looked at any of that collection in years.  Most of it I probably haven't seen in decades.  I'll have to think about that one.

        Are you a collector?   What things do you like to save?   Do you plan on leaving anything to anyone after you die?    What have you gotten rid of that you wish you had kept? 

Related articles

• Do I Really Need This Much Stuff?
• Moving? Purge Your Stuff... Keep Only What You Love!
• 8 Reasons Why Less Stuff Equals More Happiness

House Cleaning to Dredge Up Memories

So Many Memories (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   
           Not that I've been doing much house cleaning of late, but it's something that is high on my list of things I need to do.  And I'm talking declutterization, organization, and those types of things.   Going through life's accumulations can be like an archaeological dig.  Or a study of historical records.  A journey through the past.  Housecleaning can be functional as well as interesting and entertaining.

        The many piles and caches I have strewn about my house and tucked away in remote places normally unseen by anyone who might step into my abode are not necessarily messy.   They're more like an organized chaos.  A visitor who might just happen to notice our home amassment would probably think it seemed organized, but the fact is that everything is merely piled neatly.

         Whenever I do tackle one of these piles or areas, I typically start getting bogged down in reflection.  Memories start welling up as look through my possessions.  Sure, some of it is easily discarded, but other items become more difficult to decide upon.  Should I get rid of this or not?  That question pops up repeatedly and usually this will bring about a decision to postpone the decision.  It seems like whenever I do get rid of a questionable item like this, somewhere down the road I'll wish I had kept it.

         Sometimes I think I should just open a museum.  Or maybe I should rent a small warehouse.  Organizing and documenting can be a huge undertaking, but for preserving memories properly it's a necessity.

          Do you  have a lot of personal memorabilia?   How do you organize your accumulations?    Do you enjoy going through old stuff and dredging up memories?




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Ask Me First!: Guest Post from D. G. Hudson

         After reading a very fine recent blog post by D. G. Hudson, I invited her to come join us with more of her helpful insights about documenting past history through personal collections and retained heirlooms.  I'm pleased to welcome her here today.

Ask Me First!

Thanks, Arlee for allowing me to write about an aspect of documenting one's family history that may not occur to many parents.  I'm referring to a child's right to say yea or nay about his 'stuff', some of which may become his own future collectibles.   

At NASA, they collect Rockets for a Space Garden



Does your child have a collection which he treasures? Regardless of how age inappropriate it may seem, don't give away those items without his permission. Let the owner of that object decide its fate, perhaps after beginning elementary school.  The concept of ownership has to be understood.

A child's collectibles can be driftwood, badges, favourite books, games, train sets or a special comfort toy. Doll collections, action figures, signed toys, a favourite teddy bear, all are reminders of our past. On the serious side are collections of coins, stamps, sports cards, or sports paraphanalia. If an item has heritage significance to the child, such as a gift from a doting relative, ensure the child is aware of the value and background. Some early collections may turn into a main interest in a person's adult life or perhaps influence a career choice. Don't stifle that urge to hold onto a moment, nurture it.

Have a keep and a recycle box, just like in Toy Story, and let your kids decide what is to be given away. Don't get the boxes mixed up, and never keep collectibles in a garbage bag. It might end up at the curb (just like in the movie). Always keep collections clearly marked in boxes or bins, protected from dust and damage.

Kids may become more involved in the winnowing process, if they are going to be selling the toys that are no longer wanted. Recycling toys at a kids' swap meet with your child is a great way to teach several lessons at once. Packaging the items that are small in ziplock bags keeps them clean, and teaches little ones how to display the items, determining prices for the objects teaches value, handling small sales (with supervision) for the younger ones, and helping sort money promotes a basic understanding of our money system. Don't forget to have a 'float' of small bills and change and be prepared to bargain (older kids can do this). The trick at swap meets is to let the kids keep the money they make or agree to share the profits.

This post originated with the idea that a child should have the right to decide what's important in their 'stuff' and not have it given away as if it's communal property. I've heard my hub's sad tale of loss of a collectible electric train set and hardcover comic books which he had slowly acquired. He was never asked, when these items were given to children of his parents' friends. His regret at losing the early collections spurred him to start anew.

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Think of your own childhood toys or items like chairs, cradles, wagons? Do you still have any of them?  Have you ever been to a kids swap meet or had your own toy yard sale?

What did you collect as a child?  Do you collect anything now? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Related posts from DG Hudson's blog:

Time for Retrospect August 2012

Tips on saving and sorting those boxes of memories, and a 'Memory Quilt' overview, a free-style version.

http://dghudson.blogspot.ca/2012/08/time-for-retrospect.html

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It's Your Life - Prove It February 2011

Keeping family records and stories alive, collecting that information, and protecting your history for your descendants.

http://dghudson.blogspot.ca/2011/02/its-your-life-prove-it.html

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