In 1994, my mom and I hopped a plane from SF to NY and we went to visit my Grandpa in Staten Island for the first time that I can recall. Having grown up in the mountains of Truckee, CA, it was quite

In 1994, my mom and I hopped a plane from SF to NY and we went to visit my Grandpa in Staten Island for the first time that I can recall. Having grown up in the mountains of Truckee, CA, it was quite a shock for me to be smack dab in Staten Island, less than a block from Park Hill (s/o @wutangclan). 
 
My grandpa mostly lived by himself in a 3 floor home on the corner of Steuben and Hanover...I had seen pics, but nothing could really prepare me for what I had to deal with when we arrived.  
 
My grandpa was basically a hoarder. Every floor of his 3 floor home was full of any and everything you could imagine. It was super dank and he smoked Dutch Masters cigars like there was no tomorrow. I’m talking 10-15 a day. The windows were covered in a dark film of smoke. There were thousands of cigar boxes strewn all over the home with all kinds of stuff in them. You’d open one and you’d find tissues. You’d open another and you’d find baseball cards. You’d open another and find a stack of cash. It was anarchy. He had this habit of renting VHS tapes from the local video store and he’d record anything...regardless of whether or not he even watched it. I remember him saying he wanted to open a video store and I remember thinking ‘none of these tapes are even labeled.’ 
 
Anyway...the reason I’m telling you this...after that point I always worried I was going to become a hoarder. My grandpa collected a bunch of different things...and my parents collect things. I started out collecting toys - GI Joes, Star Wars & He-Man figures...then sports cards...then comic books...then magazines & videogames & rap CDs...then shoes & clothes. And I look at my ‘office’ full of collectibles and I just wonder...am I a hoarder? 
 
And I’ve always wondered...why do we just collect stuff? Like, what do we get from it? And that’s more or less where I’m at now. What do you collect? Have you ever stopped to think...why do you collect whatever it is you collect? 
 
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