Feeling a bit contemplative today...Question. Of all your material possessions...

[clarice]

which ones do you treasure the most? I will list two of mine.

1. Every year, in lieu of store bought Mother's day cards, I had my kids hand make cards for me,
complete with descriptions of how cool and awesome a Mother I was....I have 18 years worth of them saved.

2. My Great Grandfather's wallet, complete with ID, service cards etc.

[First Speaker]

1. My books...

...and old comics and magazines. I have thousands of old and new books, science fiction mags, Marvel Comics going back to 1960...old SF paperbacks, some inherited from Dad, some purchased since...a whole lot of general interest and paperback books, covering the period 1950-80...much of it useless, all of it taking up (too much!) space. But it's mine, it represents my life and what has been important to me, and I wouldn't part with it for a million dollars.

[clarice]

2. That is VERY cool. Do you have any specific gems that might be....

considered valuable today? I'm not trying to be mercenary, and I know that you wouldn't sell any of them.
Just curious because I love old books too.

[First Speaker]

5. Well, a few comics...

...like FF #1, X-Men #1, Avengers #1, Amazing Fantasy #15--the first Spider-Man book... Hmm. Maybe that "million dollars" wasn't quite so exaggerated after all...LOL. But yeah, I have lots of valuable early Marvel Comics. As for books--who knows. An original hardback of Heinlein's *Beyond This Horizon*, from 1948, but originally published in Astounding in 1942? It might be valuable to some folks. Most of the books that are valuable would be like that, collector's items in a relatively narrow field. I used to have a lot of pulps inherited from Dad--like, indeed, the legendary May, 1942, Astounding, which had the last installment of *Beyond This Horizon*...and van Vogt's remarkable SF-vampire story, *Asylum*...*and* Asimov's first Foundation story. probably the most famous issue of any SF/fantasy mag ever. Alas--like all pulps, it's now dust in the wind... ...

[underahedgerow]

12. A few years ago a guy hired me to sort, clean out and move his house. The majority of his worldly

goods were comics, graphic novels, books, memorabilia and graphic art relating to the comics.

400+ boxes and more than 25,000 pieces all together.

We sold off the important pieces, which comprised just barely 1% of the entire collection. Brought in less than 30,000 bucks for all that 'important' stuff.

The rest is sitting in a warehouse, rotting. No one wants to buy it, touch it, sell it, or have anything to do with it. It's just junk. He pays a couple hundred a month to store all this stuff no one wants.

The actual weight of all these books and comics literally shifted his house off the foundations, and started the collapse of an entire exterior wall, and a massive slope in the roof. That decreased the home's value by about 15,000 bucks, due to the repairs the place needed when he put it up for sale.

He'd only read each comic once. Some, never.

He now doesn't collect comics on that scale anymore. I turned him on to e-readers and downloading. He learned he can find any comic he wants online for free, or for almost free.

Now he has a huge collection of external hard drives filled with graphic novels and comics that fit into a shoe box.

[First Speaker]

15. Now there's a man after my own heart...

...yes, I'm being a wee bit sarcastic. There's a difference between dedication, I hope, and obsession. But spending a couple hundred bucks a month to save your "junk" is something I can understand, if not totally approve of...

[hibbing]

3. CDs, Le Creuset, and my bikes

Not sure how permanent the CDs are since everything is going streaming, but I listen to CDs every day. I have a nice Le Creuset skillet that keeps getting better with each use. Then my bikes, my most beloved method of transportation and exercise.



Peace

[HeiressofBickworth]

4. Collection of old family photos, some from late 1800's

Literally irreplaceable. There aren't a lot, just one medium box. Any loss would break my heart. While I have some copies, I really need to have them ALL copied.

[pinboy3niner]

6. My preshussss

[rug]

7. My kids' hats, the ones with the pink and blue stripes.

[Laffy Kat]

10. I kept my kids' newborn caps, too.

I always will.

[Kali]

8. uh...

my hard drive?

actually I am serious, my whole damn life is on it - including all the photos since we went digital.

[malthaussen]

13. Exactly.

If one is talking about possessions that are of immense consequence, one's hard drive is right up there. If one is talking about sentimental possessions, then a raggedy old stuffed dog (less all stuffing) one has had since he was three might qualify. (Stole it from my brother, my mother tells me)

-- Mal

[csziggy]

9. My needlework and my hard drive (thanks, Kali, for reminding me)

I've got many of my needlework pieces done over the last forty years - these are the ones I did not do for someone else but that I did for myself.

And my hard drives that are filled with photos. I've got family photos scanned that date back to when photography was invented, photos of my Dad as a one day old infant, pictures my grandfather took in the 1910s through the 1940s, and more.

[Aristus]

11. I'm obviously not the only one here who prizes books.

If I can count every volume of the Time-Life World War II Library (32 volumes) as one, that would be one.

The other is my autographed first edition of Harlan Ellison's Strange Wine.

[First Speaker]

14. That's cool! I have autographed copies of Deathbird Stories...

...and both Glass Teat volumes...he's really a pretty nice guy, if you don't wave a red cape in his face...

[Aristus]

16. Yeah, I met him at a Fantasy Lit Con in Seattle in 2006.

Great guy; impeccible integrity. But yeah, he doesn't suffer fools gladly, or at all, really. I'm lucky I'm not a fool. I've got nine autographed hardback first editions of his books, including Deathbird Stories, plus an autographed paperback first edition of Ellison Wonderland.

It's been said that one can tell the true character of a person by watching how he interacts with service people. I had the great good fortune of joining Harlan, his wife Susan, and a small entourage for dinner at the Con. Our waiter was Hispanic with a fairly thick accent, and Harlan asked him where he was from. He is justly considered overtly cantankerous, and I was mortified that he might prove a jerk to this young man. I was wrong.

"Mexico City, sir."

"Oh, I love Mexico City. Wonderful place!"

He was thoroughly charming to the waiter, and kept us all spellbound during dinner with his fascinating anecdotes.

One of the best experiences of my life.

[clarice]

19. Very nice.nt

[LWolf]

17. Three things:

1. My collections of writings by myself and loved ones: kids' journals, my poetry, letters...

2. Family photos

3. My books; 3000-4000 or so, depending on whether I'm weeding or gathering.

[3catwoman3]

18. I am very attached to a number of material possession.

Last edited Sat Jul 16, 2016, 03:24 PM - Edit history (1)

My maternal grandmother's engagement ring and wedding ring. My grandfather was a dentist, and was hospitalized for facial burns from an mishap in his lab. My grandmother was one of his nurses. He had proposed to her, and she thought she was getting the ring for Christmas, and had to hide her disappointment when he gave her a sweater. He produced the ring in New Year's Eve, engraved with their initial and the date he gave it to her - 12/31/1919. They married on 6/05/1920. My mom, now retired, was also a nurse, and I have just marked 40 years as a pediatric nurse practitioner. I am an April baby, so diamonds are my stone, and it just kind of feels right to have my nurse-grandmother's diamond. My mother was the oldest daughter, and I am her only daughter.

I also have an large glass apothecary jar, Dakota Tiffin design, that was kept in his office until he retired. When we would have family reunions in their small town in Minnesota, my grandmother would make spritz butter cookies, decorated in Christmas sprinkles, and put them in the jar - Christmas cookies in July. One of my favorite memories.

Family photos, of course, both current and old. I have some from both sides from mid-1800s. My paternal grandfather's father was in the Union army during the Civil War. He was not a combatant. I have several letters that he wrote to his mother while he was enlisted, mentioning well known battles, and being able to see "the Rebs." Rather eerie.

[clarice]

20. What a lovely post. Thanks for sharing.nt

[qnr]

21. I feel kind of bad saying this,

since I too love my books, and the handcrafted items from my family....

However, I think as far as material things go, what I treasure most is my 8-bit computers. They bring back memories of a time when I was traveling the world. When things were more easily understood and manipulated. When I was able to delve deeply into something and come up with a solution based upon my own efforts.