I think I’ll only title new discussions I make after jazz standards, haha! Anyway…
I hear a lot of discussion about the throws people will take to the grave, the ones they have the most sentimental attachment to. Whether it be their first yoyo, a gift from family/friends/lovers, a grail they’ve been searching for for years, you name it! It seems like everyone has at least one throw like that.
I am the exception.
I am not one to get sentimentally attached to things that much at all. I no longer have my first yoyo, and I’ve got rid of some of my gift yoyo’s as well (there are more currently in my collection that I could think about getting rid of too). Heck, pretty much all my throws someone would be able to take from my hands to some extent. Say if you bought a yoyo I use on a regular basis, I’d probably just get another one of the same model, but there’s nothing about that exact yoyo I feel attached to in any way.
I would say it’s with that for most things in my life as well: my music gear, record collection, art projects, etc etc. Not very attached to objects in that sense.
I guess I see most objects I own more as tools than I do artifacts, as in the things I use most often I keep closest, and the ones I don’t need end up somewhere else that’s not in my possession, often times with people who will use them more than I. Any fond memories I have associated with an item usually goes straight into my brain rather than the item itself.
Most of things I have would be difficult to replace if they were gone. If something continues to have utility, I keep it. (I have a lot of items that have utility! )
PS. There is very fine line between collecting and hoarding…
Dont stop at GO! Dont collect $200!
Go straight to the psycward. Nah jk, what about your first car? Were you even slightly attached to it or had a thought when getting rid of it?
It’s funny, but even when it comes to tools in the garage, I get sentimental over them. I have favorite screw drivers, socket sets, hammers, etc that I all have such a good feel with that I strongly prefer using them over a new version of the same tool (most often built better, but admittedly im not buying the best of the best).
Idk, I guess im just really sentimental, so I view cold utility with regards to anything as just being cold. These thoughts don’t extend beyond my personal items though. Like, my first yoyo was a Duncan Butterfly. But I have no sentimentality over a freshly bought Butterfly. If I were to dig through my parent’s attic and find my old Butterfly, id be through the roof with excitement. Or my Black Mamba, but I think I threw it away for some reason.
Expressing respect towards objects is kind of weird, but I guess im just wired to do so. Whether it be a tool, toy, electronic, etc, these are objects that have helped me either have fun or accomplish a task, and I feel a bond with them. But only mine in particular.
So in the sense of yoyo nostalgia, the only place id be able to truly find it is in the basement, garage, or attic of a loved one. Buying it off the BST is just too artificial.
edit:
Great memories, but it was a POS truck (87’ S10) my dad bought for my grandfather and it was abused and reeked of cigarettes. I dont know what the issue was, but the brakes on it barely worked and id probably have died if I needed to stop short. Taught me to be a safe driver, but I never want to drive it again. Damn thing was a death trap
Or your kids would like to have some things that you really like as a remembrance. ??
I have a bicycle I raced back in the early 70s and a couple of guitars that one of my sons would really like to have, for example. And maybe even a couple of my long played yoyos.
If i was more sentimental i would have kept all my old pokemon cards and magjc the gathering cards. I probably wouldnt have had to work again if i made some good investments…
You know, my first car is something I look back on fondly…
it was a black 1984 Cadillac Victoria Hearse by S&S
it was such a fun first car! As a musician, it was perfect for hauling all my gear, and I just loved all the interactions I had with people on the road and at gigs (and at school, lol).
That said, would I ever try and find that same boat ever again? As fun as it may be, it’s nowhere near the top of my priority list. Honestly it was a money pit piece of junk haha, but what made it special was all the memories I had alongside it. Maybe that’s sentimentality, but I don’t regret getting rid of it. If anything, it just makes me want to get another better one in the future!
P.S. you can still follow her on Instagram @marylinthehearse, the new owner kept the account and added some new photos.
The object doesn’t keep the memory itself, it just helps access/trigger the memory. There are tons of memories and experiences locked in my brain that I will only recall with the proper stimulus (e.g. a scent or sound or object)
So, in a sense, objects kept for sentimentality could be considered tools for memory.
(If you have access to all of your memories at-will then that is very impressive. It makes me think of the people who can remember everything or can instantly memorize something by seeing it once.)
Too much emotional attachment to objects can lead to hoarding as well. My experience seems to be selling off, then acquiring once again. Number hovers 25-30, which is way more than I need.
I’ve already told my wife to bury me with my Top Deck. The rest can be handed down or sold or whatever, but that one stays with me until the bitter end.
)
