My mother, siblings, and I waded through the multitude of
boxes that contained the life possessions of my deceased uncle. We were simultaneously
moving some stuff to the driveway for the ongoing estate/garage sale taking
place, and discarding the rest of the stuff that no one would ever want. Sifting through the boxes, I vowed not to
leave so much behind “junk” for my surviving loved ones. It is amazing how much
we accumulate over the years. There was some stuff that didn’t make sense to
me, like receipts from 1975; there was other stuff that seemed a bit
ridiculous, like 20 bags of 100 rubber bands. There was also the stuff that was
unrecognizable and no one had any idea what it was.
There was a box of items from all of the various jobs he had
over the years, including, electric hair cutters and barber equipment, and
surprisingly a Flowbee (gasp!), items from the retail career, and even a
nameplate from the casino floor days. His final job was handyman for a condo
complex, so there were a lot of tools that at least be put to good use.
The old phrase “you can’t take it with you” rang true that
day, as we moved and sorted box after box. It made me think of all the books I
have had on my shelf for years that were unread – would I ever read them before
I die? Maybe I should just ditch them now. What about all the stuff I saved “just
in case I ever needed it”, how much should I keep? I don’t know for sure, but I’ll
bet I could put everything I really need in two medium size boxes. It would be
an interesting exercise to attempt.
As the day wore on and the crowd lessened at the estate
sale, I started going through some of the remaining items, and that was when it
hit me; my uncle and I were very similar in a particular way. He was a dabbler. I too suffer from this
affliction –and yes, it is a malady. I was always jealous of those people who
had a single passion and focus of interest, and thus became incredibly
proficient at it, whether it was a sport, piano, math, or skateboarding. I had
too many interests to count, I was into everything. I loved it as a kid, but as
an adult I now see the downside.
I saw my uncle’s guitar sitting in its case. A very nice
Martin with a cherry wood fretboard. I saw a whole box of tablature song books:
the Beatles; James Taylor; Bob Dylan. I remember him playing a few Beatles
songs when I was a kid right after he learned to play when he got back from
Viet Nam. Moving along to the next box,
I saw a dozen books on various money-making ventures. These included mostly
real estate investing – which he never did as far as I know—and the ever popular
Think and Grow Rich. There were many more books on money, all
touting some quick way to riches du jour. There were tools from the time he took up creating
stained glass lampshades. I saw a few years editions of the Writer’s Guide to
Publications. If he ever attempted to
write I’m not sure, but I know he talked about the great American novel once or
twice.
I taught myself guitar in high school as well, and purchased
quite a few books on tablature. I dabbled with that on and off for 8 years. I
also spent a lot of time reading about money, and especially a six year period
where I learned all I could about real estate investing. Unlike my uncle, I
actually did get involved with actually investing and becoming a landlord… I lost
my shirt. I read Think and Grow Rich
by Napolean Hill – twice. I never attempted to make anything out of stained
glass, but, I have a copy of the Writer’s Guide to Publishing. I have always
thought I would be either a scientist or a writer when I grew up; I am neither.
I would love to write a novel, and I love writing, but I hate editing.
Unfortunately, writing a published work is at least 80 percent editing and
re-writing.
I wonder what items will be left over in my, hopefully few,
boxes of possessions after I leave everything behind. The evidence of my
dabbling will be easy to spot: stamp collection from age 9; coin collection
from age 12; guitars; books on writing; books on photography; notes on attempts
to build various businesses; etc.
Honestly, the world has a lot to offer and there is so much
to learn and to explore, I will never give up my dabbler ways, and I am okay
with that. Maybe it is not the way to riches, or to mastery, but it is
entertaining and interesting and I believe that it is infinitely better than
being interested in nothing. I hope my uncle was content with his choice as
well, to poke the big toe in many pools and occasionally take a quick dip and
test the water. I still believe that I have a lot of life in front of me, and
who knows, maybe that box of final possessions will contain copies of my great American
novel – but not in hardcover, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s back.