Confessions of a ‘Shameless Hoarder of Unmarketable Collectibles’
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 05.22.07 | 10:33 AM ET
Those “unmarketable collectibles” are otherwise known as travel souvenirs, such as toothpaste from halfway around the world or the receipt for the “donation” to Maoist rebels or, in my case, the “Three Minutes Happiness” bath soak from Japan (pictured) that has graced my bathroom for years. They have a value that could never be recognized by a bidder on eBay.
Steve Coronella taps into this spirit in a short, sweet essay in the Christian Science Monitor, sifting through a “cache of knickknacks and keepsakes” and ruminating on the nature and power of the travel souvenir. “Even the smallest keepsakes can evoke cherished memories from travels past,” he writes. “But you have to be selective. Even I can’t justify the 3-foot-high inflatable Irish leprechaun I saw in a Dublin shop window the other day.”
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