Penny For Your Thoughts by: Nancy Whitaker
I have watched TV shows on the Discovery Channel about people with strange addictions. Aren’t we all secretly addicted to something?
Do we call collecting something a hobby or an addiction?
Now, when I was little, my Grandpa Anderson collected pens and pencils.
I remember he had a huge trunk with all kinds of different sorts of them, plus, he had the habit of going up to someone, who had a pen or pencil, in their shirt pocket and ask politely if he could have it. This was always Grandpa’s hobby, but I wouldn’t call it an addiction.
Some people are collectors of salt and pepper shakers, wine bottles, watches, clocks, Precious Moments, train sets, dolls and anything you can imagine.
I knew someone who collected restaurant menus and another who collected match book covers.
My Grandma collected hanker chiefs and had dozens of beautiful hankies and she would crochet beautiful lace around the edges.
I never saw her use one of those beautiful hankies though.
One strange item my mom collected was funeral parlor cards of people who had passed away. Even if she didn’t go to the viewing she would ask someone to get her a memory card.
I believe everyone is addicted and craves differ foods. One thing I can never get enough of is chocolate. If there is one piece of chocolate in the house I can smell it and consume it very quickly. I can’t stop till its gone.
Of course some people featured on the Strange Addiction show were addicted to various things. One lady was addicted to sniffing baby powder. She sniffs it every day and has sniffed over 1000 lbs.
Then there is a guy who wants to be a baby.
He wears diapers, takes a bottle and cries like a baby. I would hate to be his wife.
Another man was addicted to a blow up woman doll. He dressed her, sat her up to the table for meals, took her out for dinner and treated her like a person. Lucky gal! I guess she didn’t do dishes or clean house.
Another girl was addicted to stretching her neck. She put big tight rings around her neck to stretch it and make it longer. She looked almost like she had a turkey neck.
Another person ate toilet paper all the time. She ate it just like popcorn they said.
Another interesting collection is a library lady who has worked in a library for many years. Through the years, she found a lot of different items that people had used as bookmarks. She saved the items and made a display of them at that library. People use many unique items as bookmarks. There were lunch menus, homework paper, pieces of paper towels, pamphlets, match covers, and even straws.
I thought the story about that collection was very interesting.
Now! The other morning, I came to the realization, that I, too, am addicted to something.
My addictive item keeps me in touch with the outside world, gives me directions, reminds me of appointments, can add, subtract, tell me the time and the weather. I can ask it any question and it will try and find me the answer.
Yes, I admit. I am a cell-a- holic. This particular morning, I woke up and the screen on my cell phone was completely dark. I tried everything I knew to do, but nothing was working on it. Oh no! I could not survive without my phone.
I hurried and threw on some clothes, had no makeup on and did not comb my hair and hurriedly drove myself to the cell phone store. When I arrived at my local store I saw they did not open till 10:00 a.m. OK. I just decided to wait until they did.
Then I looked out my car window and there was my friend, Kittie, who also had cell phone problems.
She told me she couldn’t get a signal and I said mine had no light and was all dark.
Well, as soon as the doors opened, we went in and laid our phones down on the counter. We told the customer service lady the problems we were having. She picked mine up first, looked at it, clicked a button and the screen lit up.
I said, “Oh wow what was wrong with it?”
She replied, “Ummm. Yours was turned off.”
I was so happy to see my phone working and then waited on Kittie to get hers looked at. I am not sure what her problem was, but they fixed it and we were two happy ladies when we left.
Are we addicted to our phones? Well, I probably am. But at least I don’t sniff baby powder, stretch my neck or eat toilet paper.
Do you collect anything? Do you have an addiction to any collectible item? Or any habit?
Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
