The cost of memory ... who should pay?
As well as in the mind, Teske's clearly states in
Rules of Media that "All memories reside someplace" and that location can be a physical object or what David W. Teske called "media" ... stuff.
Beattie Jet Lighter
This un-used Beattie Jet lighter came from my father top draw after he
pasted. He, with other people of course, actually made it at the
Waterbury Lock and Specialty Company in Milford, Connecticut. He was
foreman in the buffing room for over fifty years.
The Waterbury
Lock made locks, rulers (steel tape), box cutters , and among the
specialty items my favorite ... the "Gilhoolie" jar opener. But is was
the Beattie Jet Lighter was the top of the line coming out of "the
Lock." With in house engineering, tool and die making, plating,
fabrication ... the skill it took to manufacture the Beattie lighter was
world class and represented the best of "Made in the U.S.A." A premium
was placed on finished inventory of lighter because of the value, even
then in the fifties, and investment in labor the Company that paid to
make it.
I've been selling this stuff on eBay or other places. Whether pleasant or painful, whether for profit or loss, it appears I am selling my attachment to the memory within the stuff rather than the stuff itself.
All the stuff (an affectionate George Carlan term for possessions) that I sell on eBay I photograph but not true of memory possessions I sell at a flea market or a garage sale like the "He Died" sale I had for John Coventry.
Some sold things and memory have already accrued their value completely. Selling my 16 mm Bell & Howell swivel dual lens movie camera for $15 at the Eldorado, NM group yard sale. That camera shot the
Beatles' in 1964 at Shea Stadium. The footage was used for a college credit movie I made. That movie sorta led to a job at CBS in NYC; that led the band NGC 4594 and the undergroud years; that led to the rest of my live
Labels: Beattie Jet Lighter, David W. Teske
