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| Today's homework, tomorrow's ephemera |
Ephemera by any other name would be... trash.
But not on eBay.
On eBay, you can buy ephemera, and I do. Lots of it.
I buy cast-aways and cast-asides from a generation back, sometimes even two or three.
I like the milk caps and the jelly molds, memories of kitchens and routines that are no more.
I savor postcards written to someone else with mentions of a mundane trip to Florida to visit relatives, or maybe to see an old friend in Nebraska.
I lovingly turn the pages of yellowed scrapbooks with ripped pieces of magazines pasted in alongside greeting cards for birthdays and anniversaries, where I know neither the giver or the recipient.
I buy stacks and stacks of photographs of families that aren't mine.
These things come here to my somewhat crowded home, and I try and find a perfect place for them.
And I think of them as beautiful and meaningful, this ephemera.
But deep down I know: I buy a lot of trash.
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Linking-up to Yeah Write, check it out if you don't already know it. Lots of great stories from lots of great writers.
9 comments:
One man's trash is another's treasure, right? Do you display it or use it in craft projects?
This was such a fun post! I personally would much rather sell my junk and not buy another person's. There are a few things that hold memories though, and those I love!
As long as you're storing it in a non-hoarding fashion, I say keep on with it!
I think that is really cool! I like old postcards, too. My laundry room has a lot of old soap boxes, advertisements for old soap, etc. I'm obsessed with stuff like that!
Yeah, that sounds a little hoarders to me ;)
the man who owned our home before we did was a collector so i have shelf after shelf after shelf of space in a climate controlled attic. lucky me!
your laundry room sounds awesome! i love old advertisements.
shhh, don't tell or my husband will be on to me to stop!
mostly i pack it in carefully labeled boxes, but a few favs are on display. and when i realize i have really over-bought, i let the kids use it for crafts - which they love.
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