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May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Collecting and hoarding
By
Jim Mullen
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Marty and Sally bought a charming 120-year-old house in the country last spring. I went to look at it a few weeks after they bought it. They were almost finished filling a large dumpster sitting in the driveway with refuse from the house.
"Wow, there was enough junk in there to fill this thing?" I said. Martin and Sally just looked at me with dead eyes. Finally Martin said, "This is the seventh dumpster." They had already filled six.
Soon after, I saw my first episode of a show called "Hoarders" (A&E, 10 p.m. Mondays). I hadn't realized this kind of hoarding was a syndrome, probably because all of us have a little hoarder within. Very rare would be the person who doesn't collect something matchbooks from places they've been, snow globes, angel statues, Beanie Babies, Hummel figurines, Playbills, scorecards, autographs and maybe we wonder if we are hoarders or collectors. I have a friend who collects Easy-Bake Ovens. They have to be perfect and in their original boxes.
Another collects Barbie Dolls, another Depression glass. Even if you're not a collector, your friends collect for you; if you're a football fan each birthday and Christmas will get you closer to hoarder heaven. Thanks, Bob, for the football-shaped telephone. How did I live so long without one? There is no hobby or interest so small that it doesn't have its own baseball caps, pennants, beach towels, coolers and pens that people will buy you over the years.
But we all must have a little of the hoarding gene in us, or our houses wouldn't need walk-in closets and three-car garages. We would have no pictures on the walls, only two pairs of shoes in the closet, and you'd hear lots of people say, "We could use less cabinet space." You wouldn't see any ads for "professional organizers." Is collecting Roseville Pottery or teaspoons the same as having a house full of old newspapers? What is the difference between hoarding and collecting?
Experts on the show say that hoarders collect things that have almost no value: hubcaps, old newspapers, beer cans, cats.
One show featured a woman who collected garbage. She would not throw out rotting food, which was all over the house.
The experts also say that hoarding is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, because real hoarders get upset if you try to tidy up or remove any of their stuff. The woman that hoarded garbage became very upset when people tried to clean it up for her. The hoarders all say they're perfectly happy living in the midst of it all.
But I'm not sure the experts are right: What if hoarding things of great value is a disorder, too? Do the CEO's of giant banks need more money? Why is being obsessed with collecting cash better than being obsessed with collecting newspapers? How can you explain why a guy who made $125 million last year is upset that he only made $80 million this year? Does that sound rational to you? If you made $80 million last year wouldn't you just quit your job and go live on an island somewhere? What if the extremely wealthy are as emotionally disturbed as the guy who collected 50,000 beer cans? And I'm quite sure that if I tried to take away some of the CEO's $80 million, he'd become upset. Ever notice that no one gets more upset about taxes than the rich?
At least the guy with all the beer cans isn't hurting anyone but himself. Can you say that about the executives who run (or ran) Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, AIG, Chrysler and GM? Their hoarding has hurt millions of people and no one thinks they have a problem? Where is that TV series?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
Jim Mullen is the author of "It Takes a Village Idiot: Complicating the Simple Life" and "Baby's First Tattoo."
Previously:
Chain of fools
Please come pick up your acting awards, ESPN commentators, you've earned them
You've been superpoked by the U.S. gov't
e-Readin', e-Writin' and e-Rithmatic
A pose by any other name
Warning: Column contains 2010 spoilers
He loves only gold, only gold
Think about direction, wonder why …
Flushing your money down a diamond-studded toilet
More like wack Friday
The good, the ad and the ugly
The desert of the real
Let books be large and in charge
I was insulting people way before the Internet
GPS drill sergeant: Left, right, left!
Butterfly in the sky, you make winds go twice as high
Music to my ears it's not
You don't light up my life
Fair or not: Country living is far from Little House
A parable for the ages
Top 100 Cable news stories of the century
Green dumb
A developing story
Thinking outside the lunch box
What's good for the goose is good for the scanner
Newspapers will survive, but network TV?
A really big show of generation gaps
When pigs flu
The reports of our decline have been greatly exaggerated
Mergers and admonitions
Invest in gold: little, yellow, different
Stuck in Folsom Penthouse
Collecting karma
Setting loose the creative juice
It's all in the numbers
You're damaging your brain with practical skills
The real rat pack
The unspeakable luxury of the Park-O-Matic
Gross-ery shopping
© 2009, NEA
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