Collecting, Depression, and Hoarding 101: an overview

Sorry I've been away so long.

The fairly recent suicides of Marie Osmond's son Michael Blosil and Walter Koenig's son Andrew both seem to have been related to chronic depression. It's a terrible shame to lose them both to that, but it's difficult to understand how extreme chronic depression can be, how it can take over and sour your thoughts. I am lucky enough to have recently realized I was depressed to an extreme point: the depths my spirits had sunk to were far, far more extreme than the situation I found my life in called for. I say I'm lucky to have realized this because I spoke to my doctor and found it easily treatable - I am much better, feeling myself, and able to handle things emotionally in a reasonable manner.

Collectors seem to be more susceptible to depression than your average person. Somewhere on that scale from the casual collector, past the completist, and on to the obsessive hoarder is a point where objects are being accumulated and held onto for emotional reasons - the hoarder can't bare to part with anything because of a great attachment to them. (Of course, I would hope anyone who collects at least does it for the emotional reason "because they like to" but that isn't always the case). It's an easy trap

to fall into: if you have any fond memories attached to it, it becomes easier to just find a box or a corner to shove the item into than to decide to get rid of it. I was holding onto this ratty old Trapper Keeper for decades, just because it bore the name in stickers of the ship from a Star Trek parody comic book I wrote in high school. U.S.S. Apathy. (Get it? Apathy is an antonym of Enterprise. Ha.) When I came across it recently, I was able to chuck it out, but took this photo just in case I ever wanted to gaze on it fondly again. Actually, I found it more useful here in the blog than I feel any sense of nostalgia on viewing it.

Hoarders are interesting, and there's a show on A&E that tries to help a couple of them clean up their act every week. (Be careful with that link - every time I go to the page the preview blasts me with static. Just skip it.) It's a bit heavy handed and grim, and I've found it very repetitive after watching several shows, but it can still be fascinating to look at what people get themselves into. I used to study these shows with a "there but for the grace of God go I" attitude, always finding it easier to clean out the closet a bit after viewing. This image shows the clutter of a beer can collector - over 55 thousand cans in boxes littering his house - being transferred to the shelves long ago made for their display. (Apparently to the psychologist on site, organization is the difference between a collector and a hoarder. I think that's simplifying it a bit...) you can see a clip from this show here. After a short Nyquil commercial. Sigh.

I'm rambling a bit here, but I guess my most important message is if you find yourself extremely depressed, talk to someone, at least your doctor. I'd relate that to collecting, or feeling like a geek, but there's really no reason to qualify it.

Why the Star Trek books up top? When my friend Bruce passed away, I inherited his set of all the autobiographies of the Star trek cast. They each wrote one except for DeForest Kelley, who passed away before they got started. I read them all, and Walter Koenig's just happened to be the best read, followed by James Doohan's, which I seem to have misplaced. George Takei's was okay, but it was written before he came out of the closet, and I was reading it after, so it suffered from obvious omissions of any romantic life at all, and allusions to minor encounters with women as bigger than they were. I honestly think he'd do well to rewrite it in an expanded, more honest version - not sordid or illicit, but, well, if it was tough to be a Japanese-American growing up in mostly hispanic East L.A. after World War II, it must have been even harder to be gay also.

Thanks for listening. I'm always glad to hear your thoughts in comments or at fancollectorgeek@earthlink.net. I will be back with more on a lighter note very, very soon - no more month long breaks!

Why am I here?

And I don't mean that in any sort of a philosophical way. Why am I here on blogger?

I started this blog over a year ago, in part to understand and examine my own urge to collect things. As you can see by the list of labels over on the right side, I have many, many interests. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become very frustrating when you're compelled to collect items from all those interests. And - you don't even know the half of it. I've barely mentioned comic books, and I considered myself a comic book collector ever since I was a little kid. I have a huge interest in original comic art, and zombie comics and movies right now, and they haven't even made it on here much. I feel like I have far too many interests, and I was tired of feeling compelled to buy something because it was cool, only to have it end up in storage - or, now, in a box in the garage. So writing here has helped me to deal with stuff I've collected, share and celebrate it, and feel like there's a use for it.

It has not helped me to stop collecting, however. I have developed a sense that just because something is cool, that doesn't mean I have to buy it, independent of writing here. I have actually bought a few things just because I wanted to talk about them on the blog, if you can believe it. Way back here I rediscovered my old collection of James Bond paperbacks, and I ended up buying a sort of rare copy of Live and Let Die to talk about there. And that's not the only time I've done that, either. I bought a stack of comic books I wanted to write about over a year ago. Now, with the move, it's going to take me awhile to find them, let alone write about them here!

Part of the problem with being a collector, for me, is I have a very hard time getting rid of things, too. This button above was something I wore at a trade show 18 years ago when I travelled around the country selling knee braces. It doesn't hold a lot of meaning for me, and has little or no value, but it's hard for me to get rid of. Good, bad, or indifferent, it represents a period of my life.

Something like this, though, is good for me to take a digital picture of, talk about briefly here, and actually throw away. This may not sound like much, but it's a step for me.

I have taught myself to have more focus in what I collect. Just because something is cool, doesn't mean I have to buy it. However, if it falls specifically in an area I collect on, it's fair game. I still collect animation cels - specifically, obscure or odd animation cels. One advantage in this is they rarely cost very much - most of my purchases were under 20 dollars apiece, like this original cel and original background from a Bill and Ted cartoon series. ( I say "a" series because there were two of them, believe it or not. One was better than the other, but now, I can't even tell them apart by just a cel). I really enjoy this piece, and the fact that they're reading a comic book in the image only makes it better for me.

I also am still really looking around for anything on or from Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel, the restaurant he owned at 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., "The celebrity end of restaurant row." My interest spilled out to the rest of the boulevard, too, largely because it was once such a big deal and now there's scarcely a whisper of "restaurant row" anywhere - even on Restaurant Row. I have a lot more to share both on the Lobster Barrel, the other restaurants that have occupied 826 La Cienega, and the rest of the boulevard. Why? Because I enjoy researching, that's why. (By the way, the mug here really has nothing to do with Alan Hale's restaurant, but come on - a lobster and a barrel - how could I resist?)
I've semi-seriously set out to get two items from every restaurant that I can on the Row, and I've had pretty good luck again without it costing much. Like from Ed Debevic's: Debevic's was a late entry on the boulevard, open when I came out here in 1990, and I dined there several times myself. It was famous for rude wait staff who dressed like 50's and 60's icons (my last waiter was Howdy Doody. Seriously) and danced on the tables and bars. they also had tiny, tiny sundaes which they gave you free for your birthday. I collected a menu and four of the tiny sundae glasses you see here, so that counts as two (different items to represent the restaurant for my collection).

So, I'm just taking a moment to reassess what I'm doing here: you'll see more of what I actively collect, what I used to collect, and what I can't believe I (or anyone) collected. More, of course, Big Bang Theory, and everything associated with being a fan of the show. And more of everything a fan, collector, or geek could want.

Your comments and questions are always welcome here; I appreciate nothing more than a good question I can do some research on. You can comment on the blog or write me at fancollectorgeek@earthlink.net - sorry, I don't know how to make that the kind you click on that conveniently pops open your email.

Also, follow me on twitter at fancollectrgeek (notice the second o is missing)! There, I post anything I'm watching that I recommend, and anything I come across that fits in the Fan/collector/geek categories. If you follow me, please just send a Horton hears a who type "We are here!" message so I know you're a real person.

Oh, and of course: we've got at least one more visit to the Michael Jackson auction to write up. It's a good one.

Thanks for listening - I'll see you in the funny papers.

When the Collecting Stops

One year ago, one of my best friends passed away suddenly.

Bruce was a lifelong collector. If he knew about something he'd like, he had to have it. And his interests were varied. As a kid, he collected movie posters. Teenager, Beatles. He became fascinated with the JFK assassination, and had probably every book published on it, including one of his own, and a complete original bound set of the Warren Commission Report.

His house (above) was like a museum.  He collected Disney, Monty Python, Mystery Science 3000, Titanic (The real ship and the movie), Star Trek, Marx Brothers, WC Fields, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Apple Computers, and more things than I can think of to list here.

I got to know him in the last ten years or so, so I saw his interest in Harry Potter burgeon into full-blown collecting. All the books, the books on CD, the prop replicas, model trains (he collected trains too).  He set up a really great little display of his Potter stuff, with a full-sized broom hung by fish line underneath to look as if it was flying.

He had a complete collection of Mad magazine, or so he thought. When I asked about it once, he opened the first binder and showed me issue 1, issue 2, and... an empty sleeve for issue 3. "Oh yeah, I never got 3. I forgot about that." He looked at me. "Gee, thanks. I was perfectly happy thinking I had them all, now I have to find issue 3." Within a month or so, he had it off of Ebay.

After Bruce passed away, it fell upon me and others to help his family deal with all of his possessions. It was very sad to see many things that were so prized by him - as all a collectors collections are prized - now became so much less. A burden on his family, fodder for garage sales and Ebay, with, of course, treasured keepsakes scattered throughout.

I asked for and was graciously given his Mystery Science Theater collection, because I had great memories of watching the show in his (self designed and built)  home theater and howling with laughter.  (if you ever get to see MST3K on a big screen, do it.  The illusion that Joel or Mike and the robots are sitting in a theater with you adds to the fun).  Bruce had every episode from Season Two up on tape, and was in the process of making his own box sets on DVD.  I got his one of a kind sets for seasons 2 & 3 too, they will always be treasured.  (The "real" Season One was only shown on local cable in the midwest; clips of it can be seen on Youtube).  Crow and Tom Servo now sit in my living room, near my own big screen.

This all got me thinking, though, about how little collectors often are prepared for the handling of their prized possessions after they pass away.  If the family doesn't share the passion, they run the risk of throwing away valuable items unintentionally, or being ripped off by unscrupulous collectors.  I've heard tale of a well-known collector of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea memorabilia who, on passing away, had his collection pillaged by his most hated rivals before, as they say, the body was even cold.  Even if the family is aware of the value of a collection, it creates extra distress - at a time when there's already plenty of distress - to try to deal with a collection in the way their loved one would have wanted, or in a way that at least gets them the fair value and moves the items on to someone else who will appreciate them.

Out of this experience,  I've developed a short list of things that every collector should do to protect both their collections and their family when they pass away:

1) Write a Will.  I know this seems obvious, and may feel a little creepy, but it makes things a lot easier on your family.  If you want something to go to a friend who'll appreciate it, they know.  If something is so rare it should be sold at auction, they know.  If you want your collection donated to an (appropriate) museum or library, they know.  It can be as simple as writing it out on a sheet of paper and throwing it in your desk.

2) Label items.  My Dad puts an index card in the front of his books, and with other collectibles, that tells when and how he got it, what it is, and why it's an important part of the collection.  Nobody else in the world has his knowledge of Theodore Roosevelt or more so his collection, so this information is invaluable.  The metal post shown here would likely have been tossed away, mistaken for an odd lighting fixture, if Bruce hadn't once just remarked to me that that pipe over in the corner of his garage was one of the original security fence posts from Forbidden Planet, set up to protect the ship from the invisible Id beast.  Without that knowledge, it was trash.  With it, it may fetch a couple thousand dollars at auction, restored.

3)Get rid of clutter.  This one seems less obvious, but it's always good if you can take stock of what you're saving, and just get rid of stuff you really have no use for anymore.  I become acutely aware of this only when taking a box to storage.  Heading into the unit, it may occur to me I'm never going to come out here and dig out, say, one of these old VHS tapes to watch - so why pay to store it forever, and leave for someone I care about to throw out after I'm gone?  I like to donate such stuff to Veterans or other charities, or give them to any friend I know who'll appreciate it.

Well, this was a long one, but I've been wanting to put it up for awhile, and now's the time.  Bruce's dying, and helping with his collections, profoundly affected how I feel about amassing materials myself.  I'll have several more stories to tell relating to these experiences from now on, and more, as always.

Oh, and by the way - I purchased Bruce's Harry Potter collection for a fair price.  Not that I had previously wanted it before, but I didn't quite want to see it go.  Now much of it is displayed on a shelf in my dining room area.

Thanks for listening.