Before I head off to Korea, my father drove down with some boxes for me: all the childhood toys I'd had in New Jersey while I was little. My grandmother had boxed most of my things up back in 1989, and this was the first time I'd seem them in over 20 years.
Some things were OK for my kids to play with, like my Tonka truck. Others, like my foot-tall Han Solo, had decades of mold growing on the soft plastic parts that nearly rendered them safety hazards. Still others were so worthless I really don't understand my grandmother spent so much time wrapping them up. Take these for example:
The Halls truck is a simple piece of plastic my grandfather had received from a trucker as a desk ornament -- nothing at all important. I've never wanted it, and I really don't know what to do with it, but it was something my grandfather gave me anyway. And the McDonald's comb -- was it really worth wrapping up in newspaper?
Still, seeing the level of attention that my grandmother gave to my old toys is very touching. It's been nine years since she passed away, but I was sincerely moved to see how much she cared for my things. The newspapers -- from 1989 -- had not been touched at all since she last held them, and as I sorted through everything it brought back my favorite memories of her.
In another sense, I feel bad that my family was paying for these things to be stored for so long. Though my father and grandfather have repeatedly told me, "those will be worth some money some day," I really don't think any money I get can cover the cost of having stored them.
So now, on the eve of my move to Korea, what should I do with them? Bring them to Korea (and try to sell things off from there) or put them in storage again? I decided on the latter, figuring another two to three years isn't going to hurt anything, and I might as well make use of the government storage option.
After all, the government's going to pay to store my washer and dryer for another three years anyway -- why not have those old toys keep them company?
Some things were OK for my kids to play with, like my Tonka truck. Others, like my foot-tall Han Solo, had decades of mold growing on the soft plastic parts that nearly rendered them safety hazards. Still others were so worthless I really don't understand my grandmother spent so much time wrapping them up. Take these for example:
The Halls truck is a simple piece of plastic my grandfather had received from a trucker as a desk ornament -- nothing at all important. I've never wanted it, and I really don't know what to do with it, but it was something my grandfather gave me anyway. And the McDonald's comb -- was it really worth wrapping up in newspaper?
Still, seeing the level of attention that my grandmother gave to my old toys is very touching. It's been nine years since she passed away, but I was sincerely moved to see how much she cared for my things. The newspapers -- from 1989 -- had not been touched at all since she last held them, and as I sorted through everything it brought back my favorite memories of her.
In another sense, I feel bad that my family was paying for these things to be stored for so long. Though my father and grandfather have repeatedly told me, "those will be worth some money some day," I really don't think any money I get can cover the cost of having stored them.
So now, on the eve of my move to Korea, what should I do with them? Bring them to Korea (and try to sell things off from there) or put them in storage again? I decided on the latter, figuring another two to three years isn't going to hurt anything, and I might as well make use of the government storage option.
After all, the government's going to pay to store my washer and dryer for another three years anyway -- why not have those old toys keep them company?
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