Guess It's just No Good.....

"Once more unto the breach dear friends", a very familiar saying by ole Bill Shakespeare from his play "Henry V, act III scene I. Or was it by the Klingon General Chang from Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country? Anywho, once again like clock work, a trip was made down to the Big Easy last week. No I am not talking about heading over in McDowell County to see Big Rhonda who apparently runs an end of the month special on,uh moral boosters. New Orleans, Louisiana yea, from Katrina fame and now home of the Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints.

Once more I took the 13 hour drive one way, yes I said one way just to catch beads thrown from floats. Special beads? Beads with a resale value on e-Bay? Beads made from Gold? Nope, nope and ut-uh, just regular plastic beaded necklaces. Why may you ask, go ahead and ask, did I do all of this for stuff I can order wholesale from the internet and save a ton of money and mileage on my truck? I haven't the foggiest frackin ideal. It's just no good!




Now, I am rather certain that, for the three days I was exhausted and worn out, floats being just a vague blur now, I gather, captured or collected nearly two and a half garbage bags full of the stuff. Yea I know, lot of stuff to haul another 13 hours and 800 miles back through snow covered country just to pile up some place here. It's just no good!

The other night I decided to take every bead I had collected over the last four years. Pile them all into a heap including my Mardi Gras mask and the real specialty beads I actually caught. Put on my latest jester hat that I purchased in Metarie and have one of those "real stupid moments" type picture taken for the blog. God I am worse than my blog Queen sister.

In other blog postings I have made, for those 3 individuals who actually read my ramblings, I told about an HO train layout I have in my Warehouse 13 room. (Another sci-fi show plug). It is a room in my house that I captured, planted my flag and shouted, "For King and Country and my own sanity", then filled it full of crap. It's just no good!

I am not a complicated person. I, like many others, just started collecting things I have always wanted but never could afford. Now the kids are grown and gone, I started e-Baying. I am a certified Sci-Fi nut and totally fascinated with Egyptian art and culture, ancient Egyptian that is. Photo below only a portion.



Now why have I collected so much? I honestly do not know. Now beaded necklaces were usually given away to friends and family. Yea like I am gonna miss a few from three garbage bags. But for some reason, the beads I have collected have remained mine. Unknown is the reason why I haven't given away any, well wait, I have given away a few of the buggers, but not much. A couple to Adam and a few to a niece or nephew, heck I even gave some to a few neighborhood kids once or twice,,It's just no good!

Now after my first return from Mardi Gras, I was reluctant to give away any of my plastic treasures. Understanding, there weren't that many that I caught that first year or even picked up off the ground. My reasoning was simple. My first Mardi Gras and I was certain I would never have the chance to return to New Orleans again. So I would want to keep my souvenirs to show off in my aging years,,"Yep, I went to Mardi Gras back before teleportation". It's just no good!

Now, my trains. Yea I got a room filled with them. I enjoy them and the hobby itself. But I started with just one small area in Warehouse 13 and "BLAMO" it exploded into addition after addition. Purchase after purchase, dollar after dollar the layout grew and grew. As with my Egyptian collection,,hmm did I mention that one? Oh, yea I did. It's just no good!

Now, chapter 3. Star Trek. I know, not everyone likes the show, but I grew up on it. I mean the old ones. Before Geritol was administered by Star Fleet Command after every transporter trip. Before every alien you met had a massive screw up with their face. I enjoy the show and the plots and such. Over the years I had collected the U.S.S. Enterprise models and the U.S.S. Reliant. Not just a glue together model, but I try to place lights inside of them and have them ready for display.

Shortly after the release of the new Star Trek movie, I pulled my box full of relics from the attic and attempted to re-glue them. Now take into consideration that these models, the oldest being purchased sometime in the late or mid 70's. These ships are antiquated and not really able to stick together even with Gorilla Glue. I managed to put the Reliant back together and place some detail paint on the model. It worked good, then I posted my previous blog entry entitled,"There she is.." It's just no good!

After I placed all of my Mardi Gras crappage in the floor for the "really totally stupid" picture, I had an epiphany, or either a temporary aneurysm. "My God Jim!!!, what have I become?" We recently got our parents packed up and moved into a newer home. Over 45 years of collecting by both mom and dad and moved, stored or thrown away massive collections of stuffage. Have I become my parents, or my mother? Have I walked this earth picking up everything that caught my fancy and found some nook or cranny to throw it in to forget it? It's just no good!

Insult to injury. I recently made two e-Bay purchases. Two new models. Enterprise and Reliant. My reasoning? I would take however long a time I need to patiently put them together and place led lights in them. Find a place in Warehouse 13 to display them. (Yea right, as if there was anywhere in that room for a church mouse) I would then, take a nerve pill, pray and gather up the courage to take all of my old busted models and trash them. (as if that would actually happen) Now I have no way of truly explaining how angry I got at myself for buying those bloody models. Too late after I done already paid for them..arggggg!!!!!! It's just no good!





What am I going to do with all this crap I have collected? Why do I continue to purchase and or collect this junk? So many times I have thought of taking it down, boxing it up and selling it. Now my train collection I am certain I can make my money back on e-Bay selling it to others who suffer from the same mental disease that I do. My Star Trek models and stuff,ah maybe not so good at getting rid of them as the others. My Egyptian collection can also be sold there and I know I can make my money back as well because, well have you ever looked at the stuff on e-Bay? It's expensive. So I can make a hefty profit. Hmm, perhaps,,oh well, it's just no good!

Sadly, one revelation occurred to me after I took all the Mardi Gras beads and placed them back in their boxes and bags and took them to the porch. One day I will take them on out to my shop for storage and never be opened again. The revelation was a simple one. Who would get all of this crap when they place me in the Final Frontier? I know it sounds morbid, but it's part of life and I am ok with the fact that one day I will croak. Already got affidavits from four people who promised to cry for me,(I had to provide the pepper spray though,lol). But what will become of my junk?

A man is the sum of all his memories, myself even more so. When we lose our memory, the essence of who we are and what we have become is no more. So perhaps a collection is also part of our essence. When we get rid of or remove our junk we have collected, have we, in part, lost some of our essence? Now there are some boundaries to how much a person should collect, I agree. No one wants a truck load of Mardi Gras beads. I am certain my sons will not want them. Neither are they interested in my Star Trek collection since neither of them like the show,
( must be their mothers DNA). And likewise for my Egyptian collection. I surely do not want it buried with me. Like what, gonna roll over and play with it? It's just no good!

Now my Mardi Gras things are a reminder of my trips to New Orleans. My Egyptian collection is a reminder of a once great and ingenious culture who's architecture, art and way of life can scarcely be duplicated to this day. My models, well they are just models. My trains, remind me of times gone by, the engineering marvel of metal wheel against metal rail moving massive amounts of goods down the track. So, if I lose my memory of these things, I doubt that seeing this collection will bring those thoughts back. So to keep all of this is, well, uh,,just no good.

One day, I will leave this place. What will become of the representation of ole Rob? Given away or sold in a yard sale for beach money? Maybe. So maybe I will just package it myself while I am still kicking, that way, I get to spend the profit,,lol. Least I will begin by being generous with my Mardi Gras collection. God knows it will just spend the remainder of it's excessive long life in my shop building, collecting dust and never being looked at. Hmm, as a matter of fact, everything in my extended collection is gathering dust and no one gets to admire it or appreciate it or the one who collected it..........IT"S JUST NO GOOD!!!!!