Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Murphy
The lack of comments about my post has made me change my decision to make my "stuff" available to PGCA posters. I don't think there is enough interest here to make this a good venue to get rid of my excess.
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Hey, Bill,
I just saw this thread and your original post was the most poignant of them all, and reminded me of a my similar plight. I guess I like "stuff" too much, but old (time honored?), cherished possessions have important places in our lives. My wife and I have no children, and we have no close relatives that would understand that a fine old shotgun, or a Filson vest with "patina" was more than something to be sold to make money. I personally don't know any young person who knows what a Parker is or what it's "worth" to me in memories. My mother gave me most of my dad's guns before she died. They are nothing special in the sense of rarity or monetary value, but they are priceless to me. So, like you, I'm not sure what I'll do with my possessions. I have told my wife which guns I'd really like to not be sold off to strangers after I die (assuming I go before she), and I'm hoping that I'll find some young person to whom I might leave them with the understand that they'll pass down to those who might best appreciate them. I remember George Bird Evans writing about his friend, Dr. Norris (who left him his "little Purdey"), and a case to illustrate the value of personal possessions where the man in question set fire to everything because he could not stand the idea of his things being in "profane hands."
Having rambled through all this, I am also reminded that with few exceptions, all of my guns belonged to strangers long before I got them. They are mine now, but maybe they will find hands that will hold them as I have and cherish them as I do.
Getting old is not for the faint of heart. There's no manual or road map. I hope you figure out some way to be at peace with your possessions. Let us know if you do, and may you ponder all of this for many years to come.