The Washington Post had an article about getting rid of stuff --
from the Comment section:
* I don't care what anyone says. I'm hanging on to my father's giant monkey wrench, suitable for the lug nuts on a semi. (His reaction would be to shake his head at the stupidity, but to me it's an exemplary memento.)
* Just keep it by the front door and tell people it is in case of prowlers or coyotes.
* I'm with you! My father died about 6 years ago, and my mother asked me if there was anything of his that I'd like as a memento. I asked for his set of Spintite socket wrenches with wooden handles. He was forever tinkering with his car's engine, and did all the tune ups and repairs himself. They are today atop my bedroom dresser, and I smile whenever I look at them.
* Father-in-law shipped us a bunch of stuff we asked for but threw in a few things we specifically said we didn't want. Including a huge rug that had been on their living room floor forever. When the movers took it out of the van it literally broke apart and the movers put it right into a convenient dumpster.
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Readers batter back and forth:
"Keep it!"
"Get rid of it!"
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Material objects can symbolize other aspects of life besides themselves. They can represent something.
And then you're into the realm of meaning, which really resides in the imagination, and memories and emotions a person associates with experiences.
A clean, blank wall.
A wall filled with pictures.
A clean, blank wall with one picture in the middle....
-30-
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