General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : very misunderstood
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 23 Apr 2020 03:33:26pm
I have a huge problem - none of my friends seem to understand me! I save and collect things, while they downsize several times a year. They tell me things like this: "If you don't use something at least once a month you must chuck it out!" I don't even understand the word "use". How does one use their stamp collection, their collection of match book covers, their collection of early English teapots, etc., etc.? How does one even talk to these people?
They are not collectors Harvey, why would we do away with something we collect ? It could be a generational thing also...the kids do not seem to accumulate the clutter we do.
Harvey-from their advice "If you don't use something at least once a month you must chuck it out!", what happens if you and your wife are separated (vacation/work etc.) for more than a month? I shudder to think of taking their advice- unless you have several wives on the side. Just saying!!
Best,
Dan C.
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 23 Apr 2020 04:19:19pm
re: very misunderstood
In a way this post was sort of "tongue in cheek", but I really have had a few of my friends, who are absolutely flabbergasted by my huge amount of "stuff", say that things that are not used in a month should be "gotten rid of". They really don't understand that we are defined by our stuff! Also don't forget that "in the end the person with the most toys wins!" Supposedly this is a quote from Malcolm Forbes (American entrepreneur and publisher of Forbes magazine) after a trip through King Tut's tomb. Keep collecting, don't worry about what will happen to "it" when you're gone and do anything you can to confuse anyone in any generation after the Baby Boomers!!!
It's your stuff. Do with it as you want. Don't let others tell you what to do. Don't worry what other people think. Unless it is a health/safety hazard, it's absolutely none of their business.
If I have a painting on my wall, do I use it when I see it?
If I have a nice set of dishes for holidays, do I use them when they are merely 'there' between holidays?
If I have a car sitting in my driveway / parking spot, is its 24/7 availability not a 'use'?
Liberty Mutual keeps running these deeply obnoxious ads about insurance companies that raise your premium when you 'use' your auto insurance, eg, when your driving history & risk profile change because of a collision. This neatly ignores the fact that the daily protection afforded by any insurance policy is the 'use' of that policy. Grr.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who has way too many books & magazines sitting around in case in he needs something to read some day, way too many projects sitting around half-started in case he needs something to do some day, etc)
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 24 Apr 2020 11:51:07am
re: very misunderstood
" .... I have a huge problem - none of my friends
seem to understand me! ...."
If some of my friends began to understand me I'd begin
to wonder about their motives.
Hell, there are times I don't even understand me.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
The common man doesn’t understand the thinking of a hobbiest. That’s what makes them common!
I have two hobbies, stamp collecting and all things automotive, especially collecting and building scale models. My wife’s family and certain friends of ours just don’t get it. My wife comes from a long line of television watchers. None of them have hobbies or interests outside of daily life.
I once had my wife’s brother in my model work shop, and he looked around at the project on the bench, the tools and paints and asked me how the heck I found this interesting and relaxing. He said it looked like work! And when he gets home from work he’s tired and needs to relax on the couch. That pretty much sums it up!
During this pandemic these folks are going batty! They have absolutely nothing to do right now!
Tom, it's the same way with people who retire, and have no activities/hobbies. They don't know what to do. That's also a reason why many people keep working until they drop. I sure am glad I have hobbies.
During this time of self-isolation, those of us who have hobbies seem to be doing okay. We are lucky to have our hobbies. I don't know what those without hobbies are doing.
David
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"President, The Society for Costa Rica Collectors"
"It's your stuff. Do with it as you want. Don't let others tell you what to do. "
It sounds about right in theory and it is definitely right about stamps , coins and other small items we might decide to fill up our houses with.
But I have a huge problem with people "collecting" piles of junk on their properties, turning a healthy ecosystem into a wasteland and a hazard to people and wildlife. I believe these people not only should told what to do, but should be stripped of rights over said land.
The pictures I have here are not good illustrations. I have better and more dramatic ones!
Back in the 70's when I was working in Northern Alberta I was amazed at the amount of junk some folks had on their properties. From burnt out mattresses to ancient rusted agricultural items and the number of old rusted half stripped vehicles.
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"StayAlert.......Control The Virus.......Save Lives."
Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 26 Apr 2020 03:58:08pm
re: very misunderstood
There should be a major difference between actual collecting and the accumulation of junk. The main difference, in my opinion, between a hoarder and a collector is the "quality" of the stuff - but that word "quality" really is open to discussion. My yard could look a little better but that's because I am getting older and can't keep the yard up as I used to. Gardening is a bit too hard when your hips or knees are giving out!
I am considering renting my back "Garden" to the Army for jungle training. Listening to the District Nurse it's going to be about 18 months before I can move relatively normal.
"Back in the 70's when I was working in Northern Alberta I was amazed at the amount of junk some folks had on their properties."
I see, we in Canada can set an example for the world to follow! I know you do not find this in Scotland as I have been there too and all was nice and tidy even at the farms!
Harvey, my yard is probably not spotless either, but no one will find rusty cars covered in moss, a pile of excavator parts, buckets, chains, household debris and regular garbage strewn around. It wasn't meant with you in mind. The point is, in some circumstances, we have to consider what is right for the environment and the optics even in regards to items on our premises.
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 26 Apr 2020 04:36:10pm
re: very misunderstood
Jules, I agree 100%. I used to have wonderful gardens, unfortunately now I don't. I have a person hired to do the lawn and a bit of yard work. I live on four acres and most of it is behind me, a small amount is mowed but most is left as nature would have it. It's great to sit at the computer and watch the ducks, deer and pheasants, also the birds at my feeders. When I'm gone I'm sure it will be set up with condos but until then I watch nature - no garbage, or at least not much! I could never understand people who fill their back yards with rusty appliances and cars, but I guess we are all different.
"But I have a huge problem with people "collecting" piles of junk on their properties, turning a healthy ecosystem into a wasteland and a hazard to people and wildlife. I believe these people not only should told what to do, but should be stripped of rights over said land."
I am beyond speechless - that is an incredibly slippery slope to let someone define "junk". Here is the incredible story of A K Miller and his wife who collected "junk" on a Vermont farm. Their neighbors thought they were poor - their estate totaled over $3 million worth of "junk". BT - farmers often have old equipment sitting outside to provide spare parts for equipment still in service.....
This makes an interesting read - we have a couple of people around here like this ... not to this extent but still.....
"that is an incredibly slippery slope to let someone define "junk"."
I think it is actually pretty easy in the majority of cases. But the city and district authorities either have no teeth or prefer procrastinating while nature and wildlife are suffering.
I see it each day how a forest is removed and a yard is built on the land. Just a matter of a few years before this yard turns into a junk yard.
The bottom line is, you had those trees producing oxygen and food for many creatures. You killed all of it. What is this yard going to bring? Easy answer, it will never produce more than what nature had going before.
If I was a stamp I would be a C15 16 Dec 2020 12:03:06pm
re: very misunderstood
I like stuff too. My mother told me it was hereditary. She was a preferred customer @ the local Goodwill
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"If you ain't first.....your last."
Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 16 Dec 2020 12:33:37pm
re: very misunderstood
I gave up using my barn as an antique store three years ago but it is still full of "stuff". One thing I really like is the front of a 1937 Chrysler, I wish I had enough room on an inside wall to mount it! It would fit right in with the collection above! Or, how about in a "man cave" with a light behind? I love weird stuff like that!!
My Grandfather had a 37 Chrysler...it was built like a tank..they were made out of steel in those days. And he deserved it ..1915 to 1918 in the Austrian army..then the Italians took over and it was time to bye bye..men from his area were always welcome in the coal fields of Western Pennsylvania..Grandma said "we should have stayed home" and scraped up enough money to move to Brooklyn where Grandpa was a grinder...sharpening butchers knives.From there things got better for all.