Hi, my name is Chris, and I am a packrat

I'm at the point in my life when I realize certain things I got from my parents and family. I got my height from both grandfathers, one at 6'2 and the other at 6'5, I got this frankenstein brow from my grandpa on dads side and this curly hair from pappy on moms side. I got my humor from my grandma, I got my over planning and grey hair from my mom, and I got the packrat gene from BOTH my parents.

I laugh when I go over there and mom starts going through the attic. "do you need any ice cube trays?","sure mom, how many ya got?", "ummm, would 12 be enough?". Do you want this belt that was yours when you were 12? How about your dads old trolling motor that burnt up in '79? Seriously, their attic is stuffed with things that havent seen daylight in 20 years. Mom has dishes they haven't used since I was in diapers, dads concrete tools that havent been touched since '99, and clothes that no one has seen since Jackie Onassis set the trends. Dads old shed has parts from a motor we rebuild when I was in jr. high, 12 different hardhats, a croquet set that hasn't been set up in 35 years, the origional hubcaps from the '75 F100, and studded snow tires off the '69 Impala. I tell dad he collects junk, he says he saves good stuff. I make fun of him and what they have kept, then he looks at me and asks what is in MY garage........*gulp*....he knows, that damn packrat gene is in my blood.

Today I was in the garage setting a few things up for the rooster butchering tomorrow, and started a bit of cleaning. I sat aside boxes, bins, bottles, and baskets of "good stuff". Do I REALLY need to keep the blades from the bandsaw I sold 5 years ago? Sure! I might get another one someday. Do I really need these 30 year old rusty coleman lanterns? Sure! They were dads, and someday I wanna rebuild them even though it will cost me more than it would to buy new ones. ( I have the rings and tiepin dad wore when he was dating mom AND the lanterns we used to catch catfish...Oh I do love sentimental momento's) Do I really need this starter from a craftsman tractor I havent had since 2000? Hey, someone might need it sometime and I can save the day. What about those two 4x8x1 foot deep shelf units full of coffee cans filled with misc nuts, washers, screws, nails, hooks, bolts, washers, and wire staples. Ya know, someday I'll get that load of 1971 white paneling from someone on freecycle, and I'll have that 5 pounds of white paneling nails to hang it! And get rid of that 5 gallon bucket of galvanized roofing nails? NEVER! Pffft who needs an air nailer, I'd much rather use these babies so I can drop one and find it later embedded in my kneecap. Now, everyone knows that having ONE shovel is handy, so since I have EIGHT, I'm ready for anything. THREE post hole diggers? Of course, I might have a lotta holes to dig sometime. And finally, that box full of 6x10 inch scrap pieces of fencing. Ya never know when I might have to repair a small hole in the rabbit hutch or chicken run.
I'm glad that I don't collect junk like my folks have, I only keep things that I can use! By the way, does anyone have spare room to store this old gocart frame I just found? Someday I might wanna build a gocart,I need a gocart, I want a gocart, I wish I had a motor for a gocart, damn I need wheels for this gocart. Well......I'll just keep this frame and maybe someday I'll get the motor and wheels, and the steering wheel, and the linkage, and the throttle cables, and the clutch..........someone help me. LOL