by James Wallace Harris, 8/24/21
Few of us are exempt from materialistic desires because I don’t know anyone who follows in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi. Today’s gurus are the influencers on the internet, those beautiful young people who convince other people to give them money to buy what they can’t have themselves. Most of us don’t feel incomplete without a Lamborghini but we do want something.
I realized what I want is weird. My Lamborghini is old books and magazines, things most people would throw away, or give to Goodwill.
I’d rather have a first edition of I, Robot by Isaac Asimov than a new Ferrari. (Although, if given a Ferrari I could sell it and buy a collection of all Gnome Press first editions, including I, Robot.)
I saw both of these on a Facebook group devoted to collecting old SF/F books. I suppose I could spend my retirement savings to satisfy this book lust, but I won’t.
Just recognizing where my materialism lies an is enlightening self-realization. It doesn’t free me from those desires, but it lets me know just what species of wacky duck I belong to.
So, what’s your Lamborghini?
JWH
Auxiliary Memory 
Travel. I would like to go everywhere while I’m still marginally able to walk.
A lot of my friends are travelholics.
Jim
Like you, I’d prefer those Gnome Press First Editions over a Lamborghini. But for me, the thrill is in FINDING a Gnome Press First Edition in a thrift store and a used bookstore. The hunt for books and the joy of finding Something Good excites me. It never gets old!
That’s true, the hunt is really the thing. But I’ll accept a good buy on ABEbooks.
Hi Jim:
I am a biblioholic and while I have simplified by material possessions I have oodles and oodles of books and am in the process of purging. What some?
I doubt you collect the kind of books I do. I’m sure your books are all heavy-duty psychology and philosophy books. But if you have any old science fiction books, let me know.
Wet shaving stuff. Safety razors, safety razor blades, shaving brushes, shaving soaps and creams, preshave and aftershave products and so on.
Well, that’s not too materialistic.
It’s a nice hobby but it can get addictive. You can easily end up with a den that could last for many lifetimes 🙂
You can search for “shave den tour” on youtube and see some examples 🙂
Here’s one: https://youtu.be/YJPD2YAAd5U
Of course, there are many youtube channels like this dedicated to wet shaving and they might justify what they have because of the channel. I’m sure though many ordinary folks also have some very nice collections.
p.s. If you mean by materialistic = expensive stuff, you’re right it’s difficult to break the bank but there’s stuff for all kinds of budgets.
Bill, that’s a whole world I didn’t know about, but I could see how wet shaving could be a great little hobby. Isn’t it interesting how we all choose a little corner of materialism to enjoy?
Materialism? Or comfort, ritual, pleasure, self-worth? Don’t trivialize material things, they can be hugely sentimental, warm & nostalgic totems of people, places & memories long past. My Lamborghini was a BMW E9, long ago when I was young & foolish, now a classic that I don’t have to mourn or lament because I’ve been there done that & never have to again.
James, when my wife died of cancer, I engaged in several Lambo experiences, such as renting oceanfront penthouses with 18 foot windows in the tropics; playing several destination golf courses, such as Pebble Beach; dining in the world’s finest restaurants; staying in a large, corner suite at the most magnificent hotel in the world, Le Negresco, overlooking the Mediterranean, with my own private beach…But regarding a Lambo, I did buy an F-Type, two-seater Jaguar convertible with a 550 horsepower V8. I think it is more mature and better looking than a Lambo, which looks to me like a teenage ninja car. In the quarter mile drag race, my Jaguar runs exactly even with a Lambo. I saw a race on the Internet.
Covert, it’s hard for me to even imagine those things and places you talk about, or the money involved. I drive a pickup truck I bought new over twenty years ago and expect to drive it until I die. Do you mind me asking what career you had to afford all that? That must have been interesting too.
Sure. A lot of my money came from having sold a family hardware manufacturing company. And my wife and I held executive-level positions in health care and clinical trial management. My wife also owned and ran, with one partner, a physician recruiting company which earned commissions between $17,000 and $50,000 per physician recruited, prior to most recruiting now being done on the Internet. She could make $75,000 in a day’s work.
And like you we were smart enough not to have children, which can cost millions of dollars if there is a problem, and make people poor even if there is not.
So you’re saying that people who decide to have children and build a family are not smart enough? Sorry, but the way you put that sentence, it’s offensive and doesn’t make much sense.
Offense cannot be given, only taken, he didn’t say that. His response implicitly acknowledges that those of us without children are frequently treated as lesser, deviant or failed. When in fact it can be a choice, just as he made choices to enjoy life when he was widowed.
Well, Covert, that explains how you could pursue all those luxuries, but maybe not why. It’s still beyond my comprehension. I assume you had a more sophisticated upbringing than I did, with more successful parents who mentored you and gave you a better education. My parents barely got by. We were always closer to poor than middle class. I considered myself a success for finishing college and having middle-class life, but I barely have the desire for it. I assume your childhood educated you to want a lot more than I did.
Yes, you wouldn’t want a Lamborghini, they would be too childish. I can see that an F-type Jaguar would be more suited to your age and sophistication. I could afford a flashy car, but I just don’t have the personality or training to want one. If I needed to buy a new car I’d probably get a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt simply because I’d want to be environmental, but I’d prefer a small SUV with good windows. I’m more concerned with the comfort of getting in and out of a car, and seeing well, than how it looks. But if I bought a car for looks, I’d probably want an antique car from the 1960s, or 1950s.
Your Lamborghini is a Volkswagen, as are Audis, Bugattis, Bentleys & most Porsches are rebadged VW SUVs. Old books are better.