"I can't get no satisfaction!" More, More, More!!!

By Adam Halloran

Oct 13, 2018

There must be something of a madness to the human mind that leaves us simply unsatisfied and craving more from our existence. Whether it be out of our sheer boredom or the daily stresses of our lives, there seems to be a manic need eating away at us to strive to feel "complete".

I believe it is this hunger that drives us to our love of collecting or perhaps more of a natural gathering instinct buried in our genes that continues to propel us to keep adding more and more to our perverbial pile. To this point I do have to ask myself, Is there an actual END that will leave us feeling satisfied? 

Be it we collect for either a social connection with other like minded people, or the want to hold something tangible to the people we admire; or possibly wish we were. There are many reasons why we all collect what we do here. 

For myself, my collecting of autographs is on the surface at least, due to my love of the music these artists created. To have something that I can keep in my possession that someone like Paul McCartney or Brian Wilson touched, is the closest I can be to that moment in history where they crafted their music. I treat a signed album the same others do to a painting in a museum, both are fine works of art. 

However, there is a certain level of OCD involved that keeps me reeled in and stops me from over expanding past what both my own finances can handle and the line I have to balance. That includes not going into collecting anything past music related autographs. While I have a love of movies, I have stopped myself from diving down that rabbit hole. Still I wonder how much is too much of a good thing?

While I said, on the surface level collecting autographs is to hold onto something a hero of mine had signed, there will always be a "what's next?" ...I don't think there is an actual "grail piece" out there that would keep me satisfied enough to stop. I do believe collecting is an addiction for many of us, maybe not harmful to anything other than our wallets, but still a chemical in our brain that keeps us wanting more and more. 

While I am not close to a hoarder, just how many is too many?! Do I need multiple signatures of the same celeb or should one good enough!? What about from different era's?!

I tell myself (...And my wife) there (obviously) are worse things out there for me to spend my money on and in MY end our kids will either be happy to split their autograph inheritence or will they wonder just how crazy I was too?

Adam Halloran

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