Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

I needed the space. I hadn’t used them for years and years. They were big and heavy and, unfortunately, beloved. But they had to go because, again, I needed the space. They were my record collection and now they’re gone.

Once the decision was made I found I had a hard time sticking to it. “Well, maybe I could just flip through them in case there’s something I just can’t live without…” No no no no no. If I do that then I’ll just end up keeping them. “Alright, then I’ll take them to Amoeba and sell as many as I can. There’s probably some mildly valuable stuff in there…” Noooooo you won’t. Amoeba won’t take them all and then not only will you be stuck with what’s left you’ll also end up looking through them and regret the decision. No, what you’re going to do is avert your eyes and grab the crates and load up the car and drop things at Goodwill. As quickly as possible. No time to think. Just do it. Move move move move move.

And so I did. Three large crates of records, about 150 in total, were dropped at Goodwill yesterday. It was hard to do and I don’t regret it but I am a little sad about it. Really, though, it doesn’t make sense that I should be upset. I mean, I haven’t even looked through my records since about 1999. Why should I care if I get rid of them? Sure, that’s logical. I guess.

If nothing else I still have my phonograph player. If I ever get around to replacing the stylus on it I can start rebuilding the collection. And if not…well, maybe one day I’ll find that I have a better use for that space in the entertainment center.