Hunting and Gathering

Why is it that some people are avid collectors, and others could care less?
Why do some people need the newest, latest, greatest version - while others just want every version ever made?
Is it tied to some ancient, proto-human, pseudo-squirrel instinct from the days of cave living and ice-age survival? What does what we collect say about us?

I collect odd ball stuff.
Maps. Rocks and shells from places I have been (totally illegal and ungreen, I know). Two new ones: old cameras, and globes. Someday I hope to collect a few old typewriters - but I don't have room yet. They might all be gone by the time I can store them.

Tristan collects all kinds of things - he has a total collector's personality. He doesn't even look at the stuff he gets - just checks it off the list and adds it to the shelf, still wrapped in its packaging. On to the next item on the list. Which is really unrewarding as a parent paying for all those $20 Star Wars figurines...

Tristan collects: star wars stuff (any and all), tree house books, erasers, stuffed animals, squirrels (Pictures and stuffed animals, not the real thing. Although he would if he could). Nerf guns. Paper air planes (he keeps every one he has every made). Anything that comes in a series.

Ty collects: Disappointing Raider games (it's really quite a library now - looks like he is picking up another one as I type). Scrubs season dvds (which he gives to me as gifts, but they are really for him). Golf balls. Tools. Parts for the Z (which may or may not ever be installed). Sports equipment.

Sometimes you go about looking for these things, and sometimes they find you. If word leaks out that you are a fan of something, everyone seems to want to support your fondness. I used to have to hide my interests from my parents - who are gift-happy people - because once they knew I liked, say, wolves, every birthday card would have a wolf on it. I would get wolf books, wolf blankets, wolf figurines. Same with dolphins, Paris/France, and those Willow Tree figurines. Since I am only mildly afflicted with the collecting bug, most of my collections far exceed my interest in the subject. So I feel a little nervous outing my current collections...I still don't have room for those typewriters, or really many more globes.

Maybe I should start collecting storage units, or bookshelves. Or for that matter, laptops and cars. Dinners at good restaurants. Trips across the globe. If you have any extras, let me know - I am starting a collection.