My Liftetime Of Collecting

One of the best and most satisfying memories I have of my childhood comes from the time I began collecting!  Around the tender age of 12 I 'caught the collecting bug', as it were, and the adventure was on. I spent many days after school and on Saturdays developing my hobby and amassing a sizeable collection of trading cards, diecast cars like Hot Wheels and Matchbox, train-sets and comic books. It was a passion for me from that time until now and remains just as vibrant a hobby in my middle-age as it ever was back then.

The enthusiasm for my hobby developed from watching my dad bring home items almost every day which he affectionately called "sidewalk specials" from the early morning paper route which was a second source of income for him. Dad was always a very hard worker and for nearly 30 years he
faithfully supported his family by working 2 jobs until he couldn't do it any longer because of fading health.


Living in the 70's there was quite a different atmosphere throughout society than that of today. As kids we could come home from school, report to mom, and then stay outside until just before dark. No fears of being kidnapped, no worries about some 'weirdo' lurking about, scoping out the neighborhood. We had an immense amount of freedom! It was the kind of freedom that most kids of that time-period took for granted. We were way too busy using our imaginations and having loads of fun! Wow, what a time to be a kid!

Watching my dad bring home some great treasures and other pieces that were probably questionable, to us anyway, I took this collecting thing to the next level.  Knowing that my parents were born during the latter years of the 'great depression era', it was most likely the fact that he didn't have much while growing up, my dad collected things that caught his eye and he knew he could use. I respected that and learned from it. Dad was a great 'picker'!

For me today, the fun and excitement is primarily in 'the hunt'!  What great fun it is to search for a certain comic book or hit the stores to score that Treasure Hunt Hot Wheel. I get so jacked up in the act of hunting that I often find myself getting a little too excited while other people are around. I have gotten some stares and rolling of the eyes on a few occasions. Maybe I'm crazy but its cool.

I believe I can 'safely' say that my collection has grown to the point of needing more space to store it. I hear that same story from fellow-collectors and in some cases some "not so happy remarks from wives" who often wonder just what their husband finds so appealing in his, uh..toys. All I can say is, for me, its a source of relief. You could call it, a 'release valve'. That doesn't always boil the water in my wife's case! Moving on!

Whether its books, trading cards, cars or stamps, whatever your passion is for the hobby of collecting or picking, count yourself blessed and be thankful that God put inside you a 'fire' and a 'drive' for something and, while God is all for us having fun, he also expects us to take that same passion and gear it towards helping others and encouraging them to "seek him out" and find the most exciting and lasting treasure of them all!  You may quote me on that as well.

Until next blog...have fun folks and let your passion show through.  Woooooooooo!

5/21/'16