[78-L] Collectors and 'hoarders'

Wed Nov 11 11:25:58 PST 2009

I totally agree, Cary.

Don Chichester

> From: soundthink at live.com
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:22:56 -0800
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Collectors and 'hoarders'
> 
> 
> Very well said. I would hate to be labeled a hoarder. I have become very selective in my collecting as I got into my 50s. I consider my library a sanctuary, a place to escape. I listen to what I want to when I want to (family considerations allowed). Everything is in its place - labeled, filed, indexed, and databased on the computer. I can find any record within 60 seconds. I consider my collection to be an archive. I call upon it regularly for a variety of informational purposes. Occasionally, when I have a half-hour or so, I just close myself up in it, grab a beverage, and just enjoy my labors. Most of the collectors I knew in the area have moved on, passed on, or dispensed of their collections, so it's pretty much a solitary practice now, but I've spent the better part of my life amassing my library and I wouldn't be without it. There are records from every part of my life here, and I can relive my childhood, teenhood, young adulthood, or any other time period with music. 
> Other than the sense of smell, I think that music is the most powerful reminder of times past.
> 
> 
> 
> Cary Ginell
> 
> > Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:30:39 -0800
> > From: jazzme48912 at yahoo.com
> > To: 78-l at 78online.com
> > Subject: [78-L] Collectors and 'hoarders'
> > 
> > 
> > Here are some criteria I would use to distinguish the difference between 'hoarding' and collecting:
> > 
> > Are things organized, accessible, easy to find and 'clean' ? Are they alphabetized, or otherwise in a coherent, easily discerned & used system? Are the objects stored in a way that allows for their easy utilization? 
> > 
> > Only a few duplications (1 or 2 %?). Out of 20,000 or so titles (cd/lp - I only have a few hundred 78s, although maybe close to half of the jazz/blues lps & cds I have are reissues of 78s), I have maybe 50 or so dupes, which I look at as gift material for those who might appreciate them, with only a few of those being 'back-ups' for myself
> > 
> > Does the owner actually 'like' (or in some cases, have as an 'example') what they collect, or are they just objects? As a now retired long time teacher of jazz, rock and blues history, I have several records by Led Zeppelin (which I have, perhaps, $2.00 total invested in), a band I despise, but had need of from time to time. However, such records are substantially less than a serious fraction of 1% of what I own. 
> > 
> > I've loved libraries since going on a bookmobile in kindergarten, and feel incredibly privileged to have access to the music (and books) which I have at home; I also know that for the vast majority of it, if I wanted to hear or read, and did not own them, I would be SOL. 
> > 
> > Not that I have a problem with hoarding or hoarders; I just wouldn't want to live that way; if they choose to, that's their business. Unlike many these days, I feel it is none of the government's business & as far as relatives, based on the docs I've seen, they should offer to help clean up, sort and organize, rather than persecute the person collecting - I see it as a housecleaning problem rather than a problem with collecting. Perhaps obviously too, to my mind, 5,000 cottage cheese tubs or the like are different from things like books and records or other objects of 'genuine' value. . 
> > 
> > It is very disturbing to me how a person's privacy and autonomy are constantly under attack these days, from all fronts there is pressure to live as others want you to live, not how you want to live. 
> > 
> > I know this is not really 'new,' but with a more concentrated population and the tech available these days, the ability to 'escape' dimishes daily. Contemporary life is already like a Burroughs novel - call me escapist if you want, but do you really want to live in a world with 'predator drones' the size of a bee (or any other size) carrying out political assassinations? (see the Oct. 26, 2009 New Yorker). Given my powerlessness to change this kind of insanity and that I expect human beings will be either defunct or living a life that will not be worth living within the next 100 years or so, I feel very lucky to be able to go into our basement, put on some Duke, Trane or so many others, pick up a book and relax; life without this seems inconceivable to me. If that makes me a 'hoarder', so be it. 
> > 
> > Gene 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > 78-L mailing list
> > 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> > http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
> Find the right PC with Windows 7 and Windows Live. 
> http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/pc-scout/laptop-set-criteria.aspx?cbid=wl&filt=200,2400,10,19,1,3,1,7,50,650,2,12,0,1000&cat=1,2,3,4,5,6&brands=5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16&addf=4,5,9&ocid=PID24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_evergreen2:112009
> _______________________________________________
> 78-L mailing list
> 78-L at klickitat.78online.com
> http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l

_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/