Like most of us collectors, Wayne lives for the thrill of the hunt. He says that searching for a model car is almost as much fun as buying it. He’s a bit pickier now than he was at the outset of his fanaticism. He likes to find a Dinky in its original shape, preferably in its original box. I think he’d mortgage his soul for the right pre-war Dinky—they are in short supply, since many were melted down as a contribution to the Second World War effort. But then he admits he’s torn between those in good shape because of their value, and those used and loved and played with by someone near his own vintage.

Think about your own childhood—I bet you can remember having collections of hatched robin eggs, bird nests, rocks and no end of other stuff that had great meaning at any particular moment. I remember my own, usually stuff from the beach where I grew up. And I certainly remember some of the stuff collected by my sons. Mothers have a knack for seeking out sources of decaying collections and removing them!

Is this collection mania a passion, obsession or an addiction? I want to think it’s a form of reusing and recycling—I get joy from both the collecting and the use of my pitchers. No harm in that, is there? Happy collecting!

 

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