Hobby hoarse

My entire life, I have dabbled in hobbies but none has ever really stuck. Oh, I suppose you could say Elvis is my hobby. I have a massive collection of Elvis Christmas ornaments that I use to decorate my annual Elvis tree. But it isn't something I do year round.

As a kid I tried collecting stamps for awhile. But I got bored after awhile. And I collected a bunch of stuff related to the Apollo space program around the time Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. It is in a box in a trunk.

My brothers and I build famous monsters of film land models. They, like much of my childhood toys, didn't survive.

I collected antique bottles for a brief time. It was something I did with my dad while he was using his metal detector to discover hidden treasures in ghost towns. I dug up some really cool old bottles. Not sure where they are now.

I collected shot glasses and snow globes from places I traveled for awhile. The shot glasses are packed somewhere and the snow globes dried up.

During later vacations, my wife and I started to collect native American masks and masks carved by indigenous people in Mexico. Some still hang on our walls.

I went through a phase of collecting vintage restaurant ware many years ago before I was married. I'd visit antique malls and thrift stores looking for Homer Laughlin crafted dinner ware and the like. I had cupboards full of the stuff for awhile. Most of it returned to the thrift stores. I do have a pretty good collection of Coronado stuff that we sometimes use on holidays.

I collected troll dolls including a two-headed troll for awhile that lined a shelf at work. I haven't a clue where they are. I have a hunch they ended back at the thrift store, too.

I did have an expensive hobby of collecting guitars for awhile. I think it was because I was searching for one that would improve my guitar playing ability.

I have a ton of Star Wars bubble gum cards somewhere from 1977 when Star Wars first came out. I assumed at the time that they would be worth something. Every now and then I go on eBay to see what they might be worth today and discover that lots of people had the same assumption and they really aren't worth much.

That describes most of my Elvis collection as well (including a limited edition Elvis themed Epiphone guitar).
I periodically get obsessed and buy quartz crystals. They are scattered around my office and some are on an end table near my easy chair in the television room.

After coming back from New Orleans I usually add to my collections of mardi gras beads and doubloons.

I also went through a brief phase of painting rocks and hiding them in different locations in my neighborhood. I got quite the kick out of it for awhile until I realized that no one but me was really impressed with my artistic abilities.

Mostly I collect clutter. After getting married and merging households years ago, most of my clutter ended up in Value Village or plastic bins in the garage. A great deal also ended up in my office at work. I add to it on a regular basis with souvenirs from ad shoots or sports memorabilia collected over the years. I'm moving to a new office at work in July and I'm not looking forward to packing. Lots of people comment that maybe it is time for me to clean house.

I get obsessive when I go to beaches and collect sea glass and tiny rocks that catch my attention. My daughter has picked up that habit as well.

I suppose collecting clutter isn't really a hobby. I am one of those people who has a hard time letting go of things. I a pretty sentimental. If one of my children gives me something they made or a picture they colored, I can't throw it away.

Sad thing is, antique malls and thrift stores are chock full of stuff someone couldn't let go of...until they died and their less than sentimental surviving family held an estate sale or simply called Goodwill.

I imagine when I retire it will be time to go through the massive amount of plastic bins in the garage that contain the clutter I couldn't quite part with as we moved from house to house.  Because I supposed it would be better for my children for me to throw it all out than them.