One place setting, one chair, a twin bed, a table, an end table, and the bare minimum for mementoes were all my friend’s uncle had in his home. He was not destitute, he just never accumulated things. My friend, Steve, was called upon to care for his Uncle, a brother to Steve’s deceased father. The Uncle had no children. Steve told me that he dressed very well and always had a very nice car. When the man became ill, it was his nephew Steve that he called. Steve was not particularly close to his Uncle but the man trusted Steve. Steve also said his Uncle thought since Steve was not married that the arrangement might work out if Steve obliged. Steve is a most thoughtful person, always putting family first and lends a hand anytime he is needed. He is probably one of my best friends, having met him at Art School back in 1978.
 He lost his own father when he was a little boy and his mom struggled to raise her children and never remarried. She had a strong sense of family support as her sisters lived in homes on both sides of her home. The kids were all raised together. I regard their family as my own extended family. Steve is successful, a good honest person, an athlete and is also an excellent craftsman, making most of his own furniture. His father would have been proud to have such a son.
 I thought of the comparisons between what his Uncle had versus what Steve had. Steve would have loved to have known his father and he learned his strong commitment to family through his mother. I suppose this is another reason his Uncle called him when he needed assistance managing his affairs when he became ill. Life is strange in so many ways. When we think of what is really important in life, it is not all the things we acquire, or the hassles of day to day living. It is the people we have met along our journey that give meaning to our lives. It is the things we do with our families and friends that make the memories and fill the scrapbooks. As an avid family historian, I asked my friend Steve if his Uncle had any neat pictures of when his dad was a little boy or any other interesting family pictures. Steve replied that his Uncle had maybe 3 pictures. Steve wondered about all the Christmas cards with pictures enclosed and what his Uncle did with those. His Uncle’s pictures included a recent group family picture, a photo of his Uncle with a friend, and one of his Uncle in his younger days. 
 This reminds me of my own Uncle who has a fondness for all his stuff which is in storage. He used his stuff to refrain from getting close to his own family, I believe. He mentioned recently he would rather leave his stuff to the Salvation Army than his son. I cannot imagine putting your stuff above your family. He is not rational [dementia] but those thoughts are not much different from when he was rational. It is interesting how we have all these things we accumulate along the journey. Maybe these are the distractions which keeping us from becoming the best we can be in terms of relationships.
 Where does hoarding fit into all of this? Some people are collectors of everything under the sun. Even cereal boxes are limited editions. I believe with all this consumerism, the invention of the TV and all the marketing that goes along with that; we are being told how inadequate we all are. According to all the magazine covers, the TV and any other advertisement, we are all inadequate. It could be the TV… it could be Religion….it could be our work or it could be an Addiction [alcohol, drugs, gambling etc.] that takes us further and further away from interacting with people who give meaning to our lives.. We buy, buy, buy and I guess it makes us feel better. We have excess in our lives. The problem is that some people keep on buying and don’t want to recycle and before you know it, they become attached to all their things. They may have raised their family and later on their “problem” would not permit any more visitors.  There was no way anyone could enter a house full of stuff. [Regarding consumerism and art visit my friend Virginia Fleck’s website www.virginiafleck.com  You will not be disappointed.}
 On a less serious note…alas, this article would not be complete if I did not mention the Stuff Store which was located somewhere near Wiscasset on the main drag. My parents and I took a drive to Machias and Whitneyville one day. On the drive back we drove up to the porch of the Stuff Store. Well, we were mighty disappointed that the Stuff Store was closed indefinitely. I saw one of those little wooden flat mounted boxes with a hinged door on the wall of the porch… you know the kind with the little pad of paper and a pencil on a string. I left a note which read, “Too bad you’re closed. We were looking for some stuff”. On the remainder of the trip, we roared with laughter for over an hour talking about all kinds of stuff. We wondered if the Stuff Store had good stuff and some used stuff. We thought maybe some of the stuff was boxed stuff. Maybe there was some old stuff, some vintage stuff or some junky stuff. We had wild imaginations that day about all kinds of stuff. It was one of my best memories, laughing for over 60 miles with my parents, nonstop. I hope someday that Stuff Store reopens under a new name…. perhaps The New Stuff Store.