Quirky Collections

Before enticing you to step into the confession booth, I'm obliged to acknowledge my late mother had among the quirkiest of all collections, i.e., salt & pepper shakers. And her massive collection remained in the family long after she died in 1977. That was mostly because neither my father - who lived until 1997 - nor any of her four children - me included - had the will to part with the dozen or more boxes holding that long-untouched collection until early 2021. That year, the house where those boxes had been stored for decades was sold and we all knew it was time to finally let go.

OK, the ball is rolling; it's your turn. What is your quirkiest collection? Are you going to claim that what you collect isn't quirky? Not even a little? Or are you going all high-and-mighty and say you collect nothing? Nothing? Do you also walk on water? Can I watch? In any case, quirky or not, water-walking aside, what got you started collecting whatever it is you collect? Still collecting? What will have to happen to convince you it might be time to stop or, at least, to cut back? If you refuse to own up to collecting anything, one final question: Which quirky collection most recently caught your attention?     

To ensure my relationship with living family members remains intact, I don't plan to reveal here any of their quirky collections. But I can be bribed. In the meanwhile, even if no one decides to step into the bell curve confession booth about their collection, I'm owning up to mine. I've collected at least five hundred guitar picks over the years. As quirky as that is, I've got a guitar-playing friend leagues ahead of me in the guitar pick quirkiness sweepstakes. My picks are in my guitar cases; his are in a gigantic bowl, displayed like snacks. And, there are a lot more than five hundred in that bowl. 

In case you're wondering, the inspiration for this reflection came via my local librarian. After noticing her eyeglasses a while back, I commented on how attractive they were. Weeks went by. Another pair, another compliment. More weeks, still another set, another comment. When I recently asked about the latest new pair she confessed to her quirky collection. I won't reveal the number of pairs of eyeglasses she told me clutter up her bedroom dresser, but she freely owned up to the quirkiness of her collection with no guilt, no excuses, no walking on water. See how brave some people are?