The moving process began this evening, and a lot of things have been added to this humble abode. However, the moving has also dug up some old things that I haven’t seen in a while. The office has become a dumping ground until we can figure out where everything goes, and, as I sit here, a a lot of stuff is staring back at me.
One interesting item is a photograph of me and my dad with Al Gore. It was at a fundraiser when he ran for president back in 2000. Of course, that was an interesting election, and a lot of focus was placed on Florida and its hanging chads. People forget that Gore lost his “home” state of Tennessee. In my mind, that is what cost him the presidency. Around here, people know how that happened, but the national pundits never really paid attention to that.
There is also a paper bag full of old pictures. I think they are of me in my younger days. At least, that’s what my mom says. I haven’t looked at them. For someone who likes to study the past of others, I’m not too crazy about dealing with my own.
Do you remember when they used to sell Time-Life collections on television? There was one called The Old West, and each volume contained information about a different aspect of history. “The Miners”. “The Gamblers”. “The Ranchers”. The ads would say, “John Wesley Hardin once shot a man for snoring.”
The commercials were cool. Now, I have the complete set. Those commercials could have started me on the path to be a historian.
There is also a decorative coffee mug depicting a fox hunting scene. It has the dogs, the red jackets and everything.
I’m looking at a dream catcher, a folding chair, a globe with pastel colored countries. There is even a couple of vent filters.
It’s amazing what people accumulate. I think that our stuff becomes part of who we are. I suppose that’s what archaeologists are here for. They look at the stuff of people to determine the essence of people. It makes one wonder what a future archaeologist will think about us. Do today’s archeologists get it right? Will the future archaeologists get it right? Someone digging into my stuff would think that I voted for Al Gore. They shouldn’t be so sure about that.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 