Refocus

I spent yesterday watching, and participating in, a public auction sale of many items from my great-aunt's estate. The weather was crisp and clear, the sun even peeked out from behind the clouds occasionally. A virtual army of helpers began at 7AM to get the remaining items out onto trailers to allow potential bidders the opportunity to examine the items prior to the start of the event at 10AM. There were many unique items, but a lot of just "stuff" that we all seem to accumulate.

These auctions are typically community events, with some coming from far and many from near. Oddly enough, some small, very unique and old items never made it into the auctioneer's hands - having been taken by someone who took advantage of the trusting nature of the event. Knowing that I may have been standing close to someone who would do this troubles me.

The bidding began with a trailer full of tools and other miscellaneous garage items. Short work was made of that trailer and we moved on to the many household items which were to be sold. I purchased a few special things, but the budget did not allow for several things that went far too high. A very unique item sold was a baseball autographed by Satchel Paige. My great uncle and his brother belonged to a community baseball league and saw Satchel Paige play in a nearby town. While at the game, they each had a baseball autographed by Paige. It was fun to see someone take away that piece of history. I did purchase a few boxes of books, some from the late 1800's. I would enjoy keeping a few, but would consider selling some. I'm not quite sure how to go about that appropriately. Research project for another day.

I'm processing what could be considered the indignity of seeing someone's goods spread out for strangers to paw through OR I could examine this as a chance to share with others some of the wonderful things my family members had accumulated over their lifetime(s). Is this a glass half-empty or half-full question?

A related, but different subject....

I have been doing a lot of reading about preserving family histories. My father's family information is held by one of my uncles. My mom's family information is dispersed throughout many family members in the generation prior to mine. I'm not sure at what point my generation will be entrusted with photos (or copies thereof) and their accompanying stories or the family heirlooms that may not be valued monetarily, but rather in the memories that accompany them. Maybe when I turn 50?! I just hope that someday there isn't a box of old, old black and white photographs being auctioned for $5 to a complete stranger (as I saw yesterday) who only values them for the uniqueness of the pictures, not for the stories and memories that could, or should, accompany each of them.

One more....

Standing in line at Target last Sunday, I observed an elderly lady struggling to use her debit card for payment. I admired the patience of the young clerk who was very kind and assisted this woman with using a previously unused card. I also was overwhelmed by the courage shown by the elderly woman who had grown up probably purchasing items for mere pennies with the actual coin clutched in her childish hand to learning something completely new like using a debit card. It doesn't sound difficult to most of us, but she is someone, a stranger, I really admired.