Brian The Collector

Hector The Collector, by Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring. Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boasts that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot. Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul--
Loved them more then shining diamonds,
Loved them more then glistenin' gold.
Hector called to all the people,
'Come and share my treasure trunk!'
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked ... and called it junk.

Had dreams last night that woke me up with feelings of self doubt and questionable value of character. Excitement over finding grocery bags full of old comic books for free, only to be dashed when I discovered that it was my own collection being offered and nobody - NOBODY - was showing even the least bit of interest except for *me*.

That's how I've been feeling about 98% of the stuff I collect lately; why did I spend so much of my life thinking this stuff was so important? It's all just pop-culture JUNK that Crystal and Molly will have to deal with once I'm gone, one final burden for me to place on the living from beyond the grave *shudder*.

Wow that sounds a lot more depressing that it did when it was just in my head.

Things To Get Me Out Of A Funk Today

WOW that last post brought me down! Combine that with Molly having a nice little Summertime Cold, and it being a dark-n-stormy day out there, time to make a list of stuff I'm going to do today that will bring me out of my depression!

1) GO TO COSTCO. Taking Molly to Costco and getting some ice cream will help, I'm sure of it!

2) LIST STUFF ON EBAY. Always improves my mood if I see folks bidding on stuff I want to get rid of!

3) SOFTMOD A WII. There's something satisfying about making obsolete electronics do stuff they weren't intended to do!

4) GO TO THE STORAGE UNIT. Getting to go through a bunch of the stuff I've collected over the years and deciding what's going to convention next is always a blast!

5) PLAY A NEW BOARD GAME. I have DOZENS of games in the game closet that we've never played, smply because I found it at a thrift store and went "Well heck for two bucks how can I not buy this?"

6) MAKE A FANCIER-THAN-USUAL DINNER. I have a nice roasting chicken almost completely thawed in the fridge, I can make mashed taters, gravy, stuffing, fancy peas... always a pleaser :)

7) MAKE A CROCKPOT OF CHILI. Yeah, that always feel good too! SUCH ACCOMPLISH! MANY BEAN! WOW!

8) BUILD A FORT WITH MOLLY. It' a grey day, she's feeling sick... today just might be the perfect day for converting the living room in to a giant fort!

9) ORGANIZE SOME COMICS. The feeling of bagging, boarding, alphabetizing and reading comics is just devine!

10) GO TO GOODWILL OUTLET. Retail therapy, the last resort!