Papa Smurf
I used to care a great deal about a lot of things I no longer give a thought to, except with some kind of fond nostalgia, an inner smile when I come across them:
Smurfs. I had a whole collection of the little plastic characters and was on the look out for more. The tiny blue elf-like critters were set up on various spots atop my bookshelves.
I saved this TV Guide cover for many years.
Baretta hats. I lived in mine, even though it wasn’t exactly like his.I’m not sure when I gave it up and quit caring. I still have a fondness for that Robert Blake character. I had this same kind of focus on Starsky and Hutch. I had S & H puzzles, board game, books-I never missed an episode, and I had both of David (Hutch) Soul’s albums. I still do.
I don’t really collect things anymore; I’m not a fan of stuff, especially if it has to be dusted. I do have books, but not near as many as I did five years ago. I do cherish 
having my mother’s fine china and the little blue and gold 
Czech dishes from my grandfather’s house, and one of the Hummel’s that sat on the built-in nick-knack shelf in the dining room part of our living room. What I love most about having these few things is thinking about the family I love who handled them, especially my mother, and the family I’ve never met who cherished them. When I hold them, it brings that family alive to me.
Sally Gerard 
I think of that Black Hills trip often. In my mind, or maybe my heart, you and I saw Man of La Mancha together. I can still feel my heart so full every time I hear ‘to dream the impossible dream’ because it takes me right back to that outdoor theatre and a realization that maybe, just maybe, I could reach for some of my dreams. I can’t remember if anyone else went with us, but I know you were as touched by the performance as I was.
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Touched by every part of this! I recognize everything in this post and have shared most of them with you. I am thinking of a road trip to the Black Hills with you wearing your Baretta cap and never taking it off. I can probably find a photo of you sleeping in the car with it on your head. The china…Mom’s china. I am so glad you have it. And the Hummels that used to be on the shelf that Aunt Lorraine somehow saved for us. It is why I can’t let go of a photo or a card or a note. The memories attached to objects are like living, breathing beings to me. They evoke life. And I am so grateful that we have shared them together, even in the hardest of times.
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