天生愛(ài)收集

By+Aaron+A.Vessup

“One mans trash may be anothers treasure.”

The old woman stops by our apartment buildings routinely rummaging through the three large plastic refuse bins.1 She is old and frail2 looking from a distance. Granny Scavengers stooped shoulders heave violently struggling to cooperate with her arms as she shifts through mountains of stuffed waste materials.3 Later she may be seen pulling her stubborn， metal， four-wheeled carriage to some unknown location. Older seniors seated nearby on worn， broken chairs perched4 around the entrance to the elevators appear not to notice this resident scavenger. They are grim-faced as they chatter， keeping watch over every innocuous event in our neighborhood.5 Nobody laughs at Granny Scavenger. No one interrupts her stern concentration as she daily suffers from things we can only vaguely imagine.6 To most eyes she has become an invisible fixture7 accepted by routine and habit. Her scorching stares know among the smelly heaps of odious remnants and unspeakable garbage， something of value waits.8 Only she has the patience and the stomach. “To the victor goes the spoils”.9 Granny Scavenger deserves any treasure she finds. She always returns.

Besides the lure of searching， or investing time and money into unfathomed purposes， people possessing the urge and dedication collecting valuables perform a job for some， which is a simple pastime to others.10 There also may be a category for collectors （called “pack-rats”）， simply grabbing anything that strikes their fancy.11 The monetary value of objects is important to some collectors but irrelevant12 to others. Some collectors maintain objects in pristine13 condition， others use the items they collect. Some simply collect items formerly belonging to the rich and famous.

Something must be said about mans need to own a piece of the past. Not everyone has this affliction14. Yet， perhaps the unction to hunt， or even horde， is a genetic strain that nature infuses upon a small sector of human society.15 The tradition of collecting is almost as old as man himself. General categories of hunted collectibles include the following： paper items ranges from colorful， old sheet music covers， certificates， comic books， postage stamps， monetary currencies， sports trading cards， and photographs， glass ware， jewelry， period furniture，vintage clothing， weapons， automobiles， animals， nature items like insects， butterflies， rocks， sea shells， and other bric-a-brac.16 Perhaps close to the joys coming from finally seizing precious things， which may have long been obsessions stemming from tiny figment in the imagination， is the presumptive values of these items.17

I have found stamp collecting （paper） from various countries to be particularly enjoyable. Postal memorabilia18， especially in China is particularly colorful and attractive. There is no need to have great financial power to obtain unique， artistic stamp creations that are creative and over the years increase in value to other avid19 collectors. Also different post office facilities in the same city may offer a wide range of postal collectibles. Depending on the theme and cultural icons20 sought after， the search and discovery can be a great adventure in and of itself.

However， one must not conclude that only older people are collectors. When I was a young boy between seven and nine years old， many of my friends， including myself， collected marbles21. Our goal was to have the most colorful， interesting looking specimens22. If one did not have spare change for buying small bags of marbles， there were other means to increase a prized collection. Although gambling was not allowed in my family， I kept it a secret when occasionally playing a game of shooting marbles “for keeps” with adventurous friends. Playing this game meant somebody would draw a circle on the ground， and then placing a few marbles that we did not mind “l(fā)osing” in the middle of the circle. Each player would wait his turn， playing in order， trying to shoot and hit the marbles in the middle of the circle. Marbles rolling out of the circle the shooter could claim ownership. The larger circles made it more difficult to strike desired marbles. If you really liked a particular marble of your own it was foolish to risk losing it in this gambling game. Another way of adding to a colorful marble collection was to simply trade for new marbles among friends or new playmates you would meet. The first question to ask new boys would be， “Do you play marbles？” However， if adults were around you would only ask， “Do you collect marbles？” Girls， as a rule， did not play marbles. They played with and collected dolls. Boys played with and collected marbles.

As we all grew older our collecting activities took on a more mature nature. Collecting comic books and trading them was a hobby. Recently， one of my co-workers at the university said that as a young boy he started collecting comic books and saved them for years. He was careful to keep them well-wrapped and stored， knowing they were vintage items no longer printed. Years later， after getting married， he sold his entire collection earning enough money to finance23 a trip to Australia from America. His earnings covered expenses for him and his new bride. His comic book collection was a great investment.

When I was in Elementary and Junior High School my passion for baseball extended beyond listening to professional games on the radio. I also played this game and practiced whenever possible. After playing I collected baseball cards. These sports cards were colorful pictures of players from teams represented in both the American league and National league.24 On the back of each small card statistical25 records were printed relating the specific lifetime performances of particular players. Since my favorite team was the Los Angeles Dodgers26， my goals was to obtain a complete team set. This meant finding a card for each player， manager， and coaches for the Dodgers. Buying chewing gum， in those days called “bubble-gum27” was the cheap way to get a single card. Each five cent pack of gum contained a mysterious card. You never knew which player you would get until after you paid and opened a packet of gum to chew.

Since I did not care much for other teams in the National league， parting with those cards was no hardship. However， if the bubble-gum packet held an American league player， I would simply throw it away， but with other National league player pictures in hand I could wait to trade them among my friends. Rival teams in the National league like the San Francisco Giants， San Diego Padres， and Chicago Cubs we enjoyed rooting against.28 None of my friends cared for American league teams like the New York Yankees， Boston Red Sox， or Baltimore Orioles.29 American league teams had a general policy to not hire men of color to play. This league for years had been a “for Whites only” organization. As a result the “Black People Baseball League” existed until top stars were drafted into National league teams.30 In early years the Brooklyn Dodgers （in New York） was the first team to undo the racial barrier31. Before this occurred most of my friends would not even listen to American league games on the radio， or watch them on TV. We called them “boring”. The National league was the first business organization brave enough to allow men of all cultures to “cross the color line”. The style of play， from our point of view， was very exciting， and we had stars to emulate32 as role models.

Collecting sports cards is a passion that can last generations. Some fathers give their collections to their sons. A good way to teach history. Today you can buy mixed assortment33 packages of combined American and National league baseball， basketball， and football cards. The compulsory34 chewing purchase is a thing of the past. I suppose the adult market purchasing sports card collectibles caused this shift. At any rate the growth of sports memorabilia has increased to the point where conventions are held so collectors can not only meet their favorite team players， but also obtain autographs on their prized possessions.35 Having a players autograph on a well-preserved sports item dramatically increases value. Collector magazines and books exist with price guides indicating values of various collectibles graded by conditions of： fair， good， excellent， or very fine.

Unfortunately， not all people know that certain collectibles are much sought after. An older acquaintance shared the story of leaving his baseball collection from his childhood in three shoe boxes. These cards were not bent， wrinkled36， or with dirty edges. Each card was encased with37 a plastic wrapper and neatly placed under his bed in a cool dark place， before he left home for graduate school in another state. As the years had progressed his heart swelled with anticipation and pride thinking of the great investment he had made in collecting these cards.38 However， one day his mother cleared out his room. At this juncture in life， her son had taken up permanent residence in another state.39 Mother presumed her son had overgrown his“childish hobby” of collecting baseball cards.40 Those three shoe boxes ended up in the trash. Of course he was heart-broken when remembering to ask about his sports cards. Undoubtedly， either the city garbage trucks that roared through their neighborhood each week， disposed of the plain looking boxes indiscriminately.41 Or， maybe a wandering neighbor discovered these valuables while rummaging through curbside rubbish bins that waited for scheduled pickup.42 Worse still， at some remote disposal dump site， those playing cards became buried treasures never to be reclaimed43. Whatever the case， there is much truth in the old saying， “If something exists， somebody somewhere collects it！”

1. rummage： 搜尋，翻尋；refuse bin： 垃圾箱。

2. frail： 瘦弱的。

3. 拾荒老奶奶翻動(dòng)堆積如山的垃圾堆時(shí)，她佝僂的身子劇烈地顫抖著，努力和她的臂膀相協(xié)調(diào)。scavenger： 拾荒者；stooped：弓背的；heave： 抖動(dòng)，起伏；stuffed： 塞滿了的。

4. perch： 位于。

5. grim-faced： 表情嚴(yán)肅的；chatter： 喋喋不休地說(shuō)；innocuous： 平淡無(wú)奇的。

6. stern： 苛刻的，嚴(yán)肅的；vaguely： 模糊地。

7. fixture： 長(zhǎng)期從事某項(xiàng)工作的人，永遠(yuǎn)固定在某地的人。

8. 她目光灼灼，內(nèi)心清楚地知道在成堆散發(fā)著惡臭的殘羹冷炙和垃圾里，一些有價(jià)值的東西正等著被發(fā)掘。scorching：灼熱的；heap： 一堆；odious： 令人作嘔的；remnant： 殘余物；unspeakable： 糟透的。

9. 勝者為王（勝利者可以取得一切戰(zhàn)利品）。spoil： n. 戰(zhàn)利品。

10. 除了被探尋的魅力所吸引，或出于未知原因花費(fèi)時(shí)間和金錢外，還有一些人有沖動(dòng)并致力于收集寶物，將其視為工作，而另一些人則僅僅把收集當(dāng)作消遣。lure： 誘惑，吸引力；unfathomed： 未知的，未被了解的。

11. pack-rat： 馱鼠（指愛(ài)收藏雜物的人）；strike ones fancy： 合某人的口味，打動(dòng)某人的心。

12. irrelevant： 不相關(guān)的，不重要的。

13. pristine： 未受損的，原始的。

14. affliction： 苦惱。

15. 然而，或許人們對(duì)于獨(dú)自甚至是成群結(jié)隊(duì)去搜尋的熱情，是大自然賦予人類社會(huì)一小部分群體的天性。unction：熱忱，濃厚的興趣；horde： v. 成群結(jié)隊(duì)；strain： 性格傾向，性情；infuse： 使具有，注入。

16. collectible： 收藏品；postage stamp： 郵票；monetary currency： 貨幣；glass ware： 玻璃制品；period furniture： 仿古家具；vintage： 古式的；bric-a-brac：小擺設(shè)，小古董。

17. 長(zhǎng)久地癡迷于腦海中的想象，最后終于拿到了自己心心念念的寶物，或許能和這種愉悅相提并論的便是所收集之物可能的價(jià)值了。obsession： 癡迷，著魔；stem from： 源于；figment：虛構(gòu)的東西，臆造的事；presumptive：假定的，推定的。

18. memorabilia： 紀(jì)念品。

19. avid： 熱衷的，酷愛(ài)的。

20. cultural icon： 文化符號(hào)，文化圖騰。

21. marble： 彩色玻璃彈珠。

22. specimen： 樣本，標(biāo)本。

23. finance： v. 資助，提供資金。

24. American league and National league： 美國(guó)聯(lián)盟和國(guó)家聯(lián)盟，二者構(gòu)成美國(guó)職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟（Major League Baseball，簡(jiǎn)稱MLB），是北美地區(qū)最高水平的職業(yè)棒球聯(lián)賽。

25. statistical： 統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)的，統(tǒng)計(jì)的。

26. the Los Angeles Dodgers： 洛杉磯道奇隊(duì)，1883年成立于紐約布魯克林，原名布魯克林道奇隊(duì)（下文提及），1958年遷至洛杉磯后更名。

27. bubble gum： 泡泡糖。

28. 像隸屬于國(guó)家聯(lián)盟的舊金山巨人隊(duì)、圣地亞哥教士隊(duì)和芝加哥小熊隊(duì)這幾個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)球隊(duì)，我們都不喜歡。rival：對(duì)手；root against： 不喜歡。

29. 依次為紐約洋基隊(duì)、波士頓紅襪隊(duì)和巴爾的摩金鶯隊(duì)。

30. 直到后來(lái)頂級(jí)球員被選入國(guó)家聯(lián)盟球隊(duì)，“黑人棒球聯(lián)盟”才應(yīng)運(yùn)而生。draft： 征募，征召。

31. racial barrier： 種族隔離。

32. emulate： 效仿，模仿。

33. assortment： 各種各樣。

34. compulsory： 強(qiáng)制的，強(qiáng)迫的。

35. 無(wú)論如何，體育收藏品已經(jīng)多到可以辦展會(huì)的程度，所以收藏者們不僅能見到自己最喜歡的球隊(duì)的球員，而且還能拿到球員在他們珍貴收藏品上的簽名。at any rate： 無(wú)論如何；autograph： 親筆簽名。

36. wrinkle： 使皺。

37. be encased with： 用……包裝。

38. swell with： 充滿；anticipation： 期盼。

39. juncture： 時(shí)刻，節(jié)骨眼；permanent residence： 永久居住。

40. presume： 推測(cè)；overgrow： 長(zhǎng)得太快使……不適用。

41. dispose of： 處理，解決；indiscriminately： 不加選擇地。

42. 又或許附近閑逛的人在路邊等待定時(shí)清理的垃圾箱里尋得了這些“寶物”。wandering： 閑逛的，漫步的；curbside： 路邊。

43. reclaim： 回收。