Places

My mother was a bonafide hoarder. It is a sympton of obsessive compulsive disorder (aka OCD). As a young child I remember how drawers were always stuffed full of – well – stuff. Like plastic bags filled with rolls of undeveloped film. She would laboriously taken water out of the bathtub and put it outside onb the plants. We called that bucket brigade. Between having that behavior in my mother and dad being half drunk in the later years was a fucking mess.

As we got older it got worse and there was a constant struggle between dad, then Rick, over piles of old newspapers, bags of worn out garden gloves, as so forth. I became unhealthy with mold , insects and vermin. At one point mice got into her car and started eating the electrical wiring in the dash!

I was always fond of my stuff, but it wasn’t until I moved to Germany that I got hooked. It all began with the German hunting hat called a Jägerhut. A friend had one and had started buying hat pins to put on them. They are called Stockabzeichen or Wanderabzeichen: This translates to “stick badges” or “hiking badges.” Historically, these are small, curved metal plaques designed to be nailed onto a wooden walking cane (Wanderstock). However, it is an incredibly common tradition to repurpose or attach these identical regional medallion designs directly onto a hunting hat.

As I trraveled througout my professional and personal career I alwasy looked for a pin and other unique collectable. When i started traveling in Excellent Adventure I all of sudden had a whole travel trailer I could fill. That escalated quickly. Thus began the Museum of Ed!

My brothers have similar characteristics. Brother Dave, for example, has been accused of collecting houses. Brother Rick buys anything with an electric motor in it. And I collect memorabilia, drums and power tools.