Things left behind

Doll furniture made from coke cans and pin cushions.
Tools, shovels, screws, nails, lawn mowers, garden hoses.
Handles, knobs, casters, doorknobs, hinges by the box.
Brushes for horses, people, tools, cars, painting.
Gages, clocks, dials, Some glowed in the dark.
Switches, wire, meters, light bulbs, solder.
Scrap wood, metal, shingles, glass, pipe, cloth, leather, rugs, tile.
Hors shoes, table legs, chair backs, yard signs.
Batteries, flashlights, dishes, kitchen knives, decks of cards.
Bags for travel, dirty cloths, grass clippings, toiletries.
Headlights, door mirrors, wheel rims, cans of oil.
Hopes, dreams, offspring, memories.

Postscript

I remember being a child in my grandfather's garage, attic and basement. He had several lifetimes of stuff piled in every conceivable container. He bought and sold things. Did everyone from that generation? He had gone through World War II. He was raised in a real admitted depression. People from that era collected things. They wanted to be surrounded by things that they thought useful.

When I was a child the piles and barrels of things were a wonderland of treasures. Everything was rusted. Noting was in pristine condition except the doll furniture and a few other things that made their way to the front room on a shelf.

This list is more than his hoard. It is the combination of many places when I was a kid. A man named Bobert who raised my mom had a similar mentality, but not so much the hoard. He sold things as they came in to his possession. More often anyway.

My father has a garage full of useful things. He is very organized. I bet he can lay his hands on 90% of the things he owns without searching far. That last 10% is slop.

I'm working on a pile of my own. I have more possessions now than ever before in my life. Nat has more than I. Elle has many possessions. Our house is over stuffed. This is not a bad thing if it works for you. It does not work for us.

We are more than our possessions. I believe that possessions are fine as log as they help you be a good person and do not get in the way of you being a good person. You can't take it with you. You leave it behind.