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.”
Related on World Hum:
* My Buddy Went to Tajikistan and All I Got Was This Deconstructionist Text
* What Do Yaks, Sword Wounds and Voodoo Consultations Have in Common?
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
TambourineMan 05.22.07 | 2:00 PM ET
Oh, man. I have tons of this junk lying around. Just off the top of my head:
- Mt. Etna genuine lava-rock ashtray.
- “Grow Your Own Giant Sequoia” seed kit (I have the Redwood version as well).
- John Wayne buck knife from Monument Valley.
- 2 jars of Vegemite (I’ll need to call a haz-mat crew to dispose of these babies).
- Polygamy Porter six-pack carriers from Utah.
- Caribbean Sea beans.
- Miniature Alaskan totem pole.
- North Shore Nitro hot sauce.
- Giant Pope John Paul lollipop.
- At least two dozen wine tasting glasses.
- An extensive refrigerator magnet collection (do these count?)
Michael Yessis 05.22.07 | 4:11 PM ET
Your magnet collection absolutely counts. I’ve got a bunch myself, as well as a shot glass from the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library.
Tell me, this, too: Where does one get a “Giant Pope John Paul lollipop”?
TambourineMan 05.22.07 | 9:49 PM ET
From a Roman gypsy. Where else?
Let me clarify. The sucker isn’t shaped like the Pope’s head. It’s just a plain, giant swirly lollipop adorned with a handsome portrait of the Holy Father. The picture is held in place by the cellopahane wrapper.
Clinton shot glasses? Nice.
By the way, I enjoyed the CSM essay. Thanks.
Jerry O Grant 05.23.07 | 7:51 PM ET
How about a pice of samll granite from the Crazy Horse monument in Wyoming. A litte rock from the island of Iona just off the east shore of Scotland. Paid ten pence for it. Got a small plastic bottle of Mount St Helen’s ash gathered from the shoulder of the road on Rt 395 in eastern Washington. None worth anything but memories.