An Eye for History

When I was 8 years old or so, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I guess I still do! I spent more than half my life studying history, 7 years in formal higher education (and I'm a beekeeper). I am drawn to old places and objects by a magnetism that surprises even myself. This is one reason I love auctions, and why I started an Etsy page for setting rustic vintage items: Copperhead Rd Vintage

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Copperheadrdvintage?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

From my profile:

"I love being a husband and a father. I am a beekeeper and an heirloom gardener.

I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid. I like old forgotten people , places, and things. Places full of vines or dust or cobwebs. Quiet places hidden between worlds. My eye finds things that have memories still haunting them. Unpretentious, they reveal their secrets to me."

Yesterday I was so upset with myself and feeling half mad so I decided to take a walk. I found a creek and decided to follow it awhile. through woods and meadows, under fallen trees, through cobwebs, past Jewel weed in bloom.... It did my soul much good. My best friend told me later, "In the old days, we were the ones who heard the sounds in the night and ran with spear in hand to see what it was. We are wired up to follow trails and meet the quarry and bring it back with us."

We lamented how unmarketable these skills are in modern society. It is virtually impossible to keep track of time/date and to be a good tracker at the same time. I wish someone would pay me $80K/year to follow trail.

In this age of disposable new-in-the-package mass-produced trinkets, I get excited about rusty old iron, moss-covered boards, hand-worn book covers, hand-made quilts. I have an old loom shuttle on my Etsy store. At the same time I bought that, I bought a hand-carved oak needle. There was just something about it that gave me a warmth in my gut. This was the only one of its kind! There were not hundreds of copies on shelves or shipping crates somewhere. How many times did a woman's hands touch these items? How many times did it
pass back and forth to make a fabric?

They've got soul, you know? They've got juju. Material objects and spaces have memories that linger. I think I'm nostalgic about most everything that's ever been part of life in some way. It's more than just "junk": there's a certain way of connecting to those no longer with us through the places and things they touched every day. There's no real way to assess the dollar (or steem) value of something like that.