Stuff-ocation

Moving is always a journey through time. You find the things you haven't seen or thought about for months, maybe years. Thousands of decisions on what to keep, what to sell and what to throw away are made in a matter of days. Objects I paid $100 for I'm willing to take $5 for in return. The process really makes you question what your Stuff (with a capital "S") is worth.

The value of Stuff is measured in two ways: the going rate for the object itself and the emotional attachment we place on it. My copy of J.D. Salinger's "Franny & Zooey" is a perfect example of an object worth more to me than its original value or the value I could get trying to selling it. This particular book is the 12th edition printed in 1962. It originally sold for $3.50. It was purchased by a friend of mine for probably around the same price at a used bookstore and given to me as a gift. I may get $0.50 at a garage sale for it and absolutely nothing on Amazon.com since it's about as beaten up as a book can get.

But my association with this book is important to me. It takes me back to age 16, when I used to skip school to read fiction and play backgammon at my local coffee house. I remember this book on the dashboard of my 1984 Honda Accord, a Marlboro Light in my hand and a feeling of utter intellectual rebellion, knowing an afternoon spent reading this genius work of fiction was far more valuable than an afternoon spent in Home Economics. I love how torn and tattered this book is, evidence that it was savored by more than a few souls, carried in purses, taken to the beach and pondered over a cup of strong coffee. How could I give up an object imbued with so many memories for just a couple of quarters?

Well I can't. The book is packed up to make the long trip home. But take that book and add another 200 more and all of a sudden I'm looking at $150 in shipping costs to get these paper treasures safely into my mom's garage. So what's a poor, funemployed soul to do with all this Stuff? Make decisions I guess. Give up one object to keep another. Ship some Stuff, store some Stuff, give a bunch of Stuff away.

We are a society of Stuff. We work so we can buy Stuff. We buy Stuff so we can look cool. We get rid of Stuff to make room for new Stuff. Then we define ourselves, in a way, by the Stuff we manage to acquire over our lifetime. In fact, our Stuff is so important to us that we write down what's supposed to happen with it after we die. I'm Stuff-ocating with all this Crap (with a capital "C")!!!

Time to unload, unleash and move on. The future has nothing but a backpack in store for me, so it's time to disperse my belongings and simplify my life. I will, however, bring this copy of "Franny & Zooey" along for the ride. It's clearly aching for another loving rip in the cover, perhaps somewhere between Hanoi and Hong Kong.