It is strange how some folks "collect" things while others are "hoarders". What is the difference? Sure, the term hoarding has lately been removed from its original use of stockpiling needed supplies or money to just never throwing away anything but can't that be said about collecting as well? Think about it. There are those who amass huge "collections" of one type item and then there are the rest of us who have "stuff". I have stuff. Lots of stuff. BUT! The big difference between merely having a collection and having stuff is that I actually use my stuff. Granted, most of the time, it is as props for the clue hunts we hold here on the Bayou each October but it is, nevertheless, used. I have always been referred to as the "Collector of Weird and Wonderful Things". I do not collect things like most folks. I do not have beautifully displayed racks of commemorative spoons, neatly organized books of stamps or categorized pages of mounted coins. I have stuff. Just stuff. I have shelves filled with dusty old books from eons ago, drawers filled with stiffly starched, handmade doilies and a buffet top filled with antique (lead-filled!) pewter that is unsafe to use. I have an armless wooden statue of some warrior, a zoetrope and two dead foxes. (Those are actually antique stoles but dead foxes just the same.) Weird things. Wonderful things. Things that others see as clutter. Things I like. What is the difference?
Collecting, or maybe hoarding, is also noticed in the critter world. We have all heard of how male crows will steal shiny items to woo their ladylove and how mice will drag small bottles, knickknacks and jewelry into their nests but how about a crab? This afternoon after I coerced the old dog, Mr. PJ, to take a hike with me, we wound up on the pier. Here lately, Mr. PJ would rather nap inside instead of hiking but I figured fresh air would do him good. While on the pier, I noticed that hundreds of fiddler crabs were in the process of protecting their nesting holes. The males stood waving their large claws at any passerby. Any "unmarried" males were threatened with bodily harm if they neared an occupied den. There is nothing unusual about this. Each summer sees the same thing. Lots of fiddler crabs being crabby.
However, one rather large male had another goal in mind. He was not protecting a ladylove and her brooding den. Instead, he had collected a rather large prize and was busy defending his right to own it. On the last high tide, a nasty looking tennis ball had washed ashore and the crab obviously thought it was quite grand. He stood defiantly against all interlopers and waved that large claw violently. This was HIS prize and his alone!
Whether this action was truly an act of love for the tennis ball or whether this was an unattached male who was bored, it made me think of folks who collect and those who hoard. They are one and the same. If the collection or "stuff" makes you happy...so be it. It is no one's business but your own. If a crab can be in love with a tennis ball...so be it. It is no one's business but his own.
I am a collector..not a hoarder..that just does not have a nice ring to it..so I am a collector! Many people collect things..stamps, coins, dolls and even things like fishing lures. 
I have it all, not complete sets of anything but I have dibs and dabs of everything. I just collect things. If I find something interesting..I keep it. That is what has gotten me in the state I am today. Too many collectibles! Not that I can really call everything I collect a "collectible" in the sense that it is most commonly used. I use "collectible" simply because junk sounds like what a hoarder keeps and we already settled that..I am not a hoarder! Yesterday and today however, I have come to the conclusion that I have way too many collectibles. They have far outgrown the shelves that line the dining room walls and have taken over every nook and cranny in my house. My niece calls them my dust collectors..and after cleaning for the past two days, I realize she is right. Oh my goodness! There was so much dust! The main dilemma that I encountered today was where do I put my treasures?? And what am I ever going to do with them?? I am quite sure that my kids will never know what in the world half of this stuff is nor why I ever saved it. It will be like some great mystery that they can piece together after I have made my way to the Great Beyond! (Barring, of course, that they do not just toss the whole kit and caboodle!) What fun it will be for them to ponder why I have a perfect collection of odd teapots..none of which match the assorted teacups..all of which I never use! Or why I have saved
hundreds of antique pictures of people I do not now nor ever knew. Maybe Great Aunt Thelma's spoon collection will spark some interest or perhaps Great Aunt Ruth's pink glass dishes will light up someone's eyes. The Civil War items definitely will raise an eyebrow but how about the rolling pin collection? Or the fairy lamps, Christmas ornaments, crocks, wooden boxes or canning jars filled with buttons or beads?? Just let them delve into the old steamer trunks to find clothes, letters and diaries of someone that has no connection to the family in the least. Will they understand the reasoning behind my keeping all of this..will they see it is simply because of the fact that I am a "Keeper of Things". My house is like a mini museum filled to the rafters (literally) with odd and wonderful surprises and I am the curator of this rather odd conglomeration of keepsakes. I am positive that most of it will pass the wayside as "junk" just because it has no monetary value. The value lies simply in the fact that somewhere, sometime, someone held these things as important in their lives. I grew up in a household where it was an unwritten law of "waste not, want not" and so I naturally save things. Things that may be useful..and then those that probably are not ever going to be useful again. It matters not if these things are viewed as priceless treasures to my kids or anyone else..these "collectibles" make me smile so in my small world they are invaluable! Besides, some day my children can have a great yardsale!.....Now where shall I put this wonderful collection of spittoons??
