When sweet memories are for sale<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Household items, to my wife, are just like shoes
\nto Imelda Marcos. She has a collection of what my son refers to
\nas \"junks\", consisting of dishes, electrical appliances, cutlery,
\neatery, and all kinds of china, that could fill a department
\nstore.<\/p>\n
I know my wife is not the only Indonesian who loves keeping
\nused things. In a hospital, one day, I met a lady who had just
\nbecome a grandmother. She showed me a baby blanket, neatly
\nwrapped in a silk scarf.<\/p>\n
\"I've just had a granddaughter,\" she announced as if she had
\njust won a Nobel prize for an important invention that would
\nchange the world. \"And look at what I have here. This is the
\nblanket my son wore when he was taken home from the hospital so
\nmany years ago. And I want his daughter to wear it now. Oh, what
\na wonderful memory.\"<\/p>\n
Her son tried to protest.<\/p>\n
\"But, Ma, after so many years the blanket may be full of
\ngerms. Why don't we just use a new one?\"<\/p>\n
The proud grandma dismissed the idea. \"Oh, you don't
\nunderstand, dear. This blanket brings a lot of good memories of
\nthe old time. And, I still have your first food plate, your milk
\nbottle, and your candle. Your wife would love to have them for
\nyour daughter.\"<\/p>\n
\"Yes, she would love to dump them into an incinerator,\" the
\npoor young father whispered to me. And I don't blame him. Who
\nwould want to use a piece of twenty-seven-year-old second-hand
\nbaby blanket in this age of modernity ?<\/p>\n
It's all right to keep a collection of precious antiques,
\ngems, drawing, or china. But to keep used household items is
\nsomewhat \"foolish\".<\/p>\n
When our son came back home after graduating from a college in
\nBandung and we needed more space to breathe, I eventually talked
\nmy wife into selling her collection of \"junks\". She realized that
\nit was useless to keep the things she didn't need. I also
\npersuaded some neighbors to take part in a garage sale to get rid
\nof their unused items.<\/p>\n
After putting on an ad for a garage sale in a newspaper, those
\nladies began to work. They brought the items to our garage and
\nput price tags on each of them. But, I felt hopeless when I
\noverheard what they said.<\/p>\n
\"Oh, my! This is the blender we brought the first time we went
\nto Singapore,\" said Mbak Anna, a neighbor who pitched in to sell
\nher unused items. \"And I'm not supposed to let it go, although I
\nhave had a sophisticated food processor.\"<\/p>\n
\"Look at this!\" shouted the other. \"Tantyo used it when he
\nfirst learned to ride a bicycle. I have to keep this bike.\"<\/p>\n
\"Talking about nostalgia, this kerosene stove reminds me of
\nthe early days of our marriage. I feel like it's just yesterday
\nthat my husband helped me clean and replace the wick. Oh, where
\nhas the time gone?\"<\/p>\n
\"Are you going to sell it?\"<\/p>\n
\"Not in a month of Sundays!\"<\/p>\n
Those ladies went on and on with their nostalgia. And when it
\nwas time to open, there were only a few items left for sale.
\nOthers were marked SOLD meaning that the ladies did NOT want to
\nsell them.<\/p>\n
\"Sorry, sir, an early bird has caught the worm,\" Mbak Anna
\nsang when a man wanted to buy her old vacuum cleaner. The truth
\nwas, that particular item was a gift from an ex-lover on her
\nwedding day.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, by the end of the sale, most items went back
\nto where they belong. And when I demanded an explanation, the
\nladies answered in chorus: \"Men do not understand.\"<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-sweet-memories-are-for-sale-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }