By Roxanne Brown
Looking back, I really regret not being waaay more of a pack rat.
If only I could travel back in time to tell younger me to keep all my toys and other collectibles, as well as those I bought for my kids when they were little. I’d be happier — and possibly richer— today.
But sadly I can’t, which means whoever ended up with my old Cabbage Patch, Strawberry Shortcake, and Troll dolls, my Garbage Pail Kids, Grease, and Star Wars trading cards, all of my Star Wars original figurines (which I probably had most of), my R2-D2 and C-3PO lunch box and Trapper Keepers, my Care Bear stuffed animals, my daughter’s old Pokémon cards, her Furby, her My Little Ponies, my son and younger daughters’ Tickle Me Elmo and Disney VHS tapes, and my many, many vinyl records, I hope they served you well!
It’s a sore subject in my head, especially when I come across articles detailing the worth of some of those items . . . or when I visit a record store today to buy used albums I previously owned (and bought new for much less decades ago). Insert sobbing emoji here!
Anyway, I still have the memories to hold near and dear, right? Yeah whatever, those memories only carry sentimental value.
Speaking of which, I clearly remember my mom telling me how some woman literally tried grabbing the yellow “Cheer Bear” Care Bear out of her hands as she was putting it into her cart while Christmas shopping one year, and how she had to wait in a long line for Cabbage Patch dolls for my sister and I.
I can relate. When my now 31-year-old daughter was little, all she wanted one Christmas was a Furby. They were sold out in stores before I could get my hands on one, but I did find a woman with one. She wasn’t exactly in the Christmas spirit though, so I ended up buying it (with my dad’s help) for $300. Not only that, I didn’t even get a “Thanks, mom” because the coveted gift was technically from Santa. Even worse, the Furby talked by itself one day shortly after, and my daughter, then afraid, wanted nothing to do with it, so out it went!
As for vintage vinyl, I am glad to see the comeback, and that younger and older generations of people are bonding as they look for albums by all the awesome classic artists and bands, plus current ones too.
I also feel that same excitement I did as younger me who could not wait to get home, take the record out and play it for the first time, that is, until I get to the register and hear the total price!
The lesson here? If you think it could be valuable one day, keep it! I can only wish I would have.
Give us a shout!
Give us a shout!
Give us a shout!
Originally from Nogales, Arizona, Roxanne worked in the customer service industry while writing independently for years. After moving to Florida in 1999, Roxanne eventually switched her career path to focus more on writing and went on to become an award-winning reporter for The Daily Commercial/South Lake Press newspapers for 16 years prior to coming on board with Akers Media as a staff writer in July 2020 – her dream job come true.
