There is something about the past that pulls me in. When I started doing genealogy research in 2006, I was enthralled by the fascinating intersections between family and history. Now at 32 years of age, I decided to stop by an antiques shop on my own for the first time ever. Funny enough, the show "Pawn Stars" recently caught my attention in terms of the cool artifacts that people brought in. Driving back from Providence, R.I. today, I saw the Rhode Island Antiques Mall conveniently off of Interstate 95, and I thought, "Why not stop in?"
When I entered the store, the first thing I noticed was a 1950's style stove-oven boldly colored turquoise and in near-pristine condition. My narrowed focus on this piece of domestic history then expanded to my peripheral views in the rest of the antiques mall. Good golly, thousands or perhaps more than a million nick-knacks and pieces of jewelry, furniture, electronics, containers, daguerreotypes and other old photographs, trading cards and sports memorabilia, and even my personal favorite collectible - walking sticks.
It all evoked this feeling that I can best describe as that childhood sense of awe and wonder when coming across a brand new experience - like walking into Disney World, or perhaps in my case, running through the woods as a young kid behind my house in Chesterfield, Virginia and discovering dilapidated Civil War era mounds and remains of old buildings. They became a sort of playground. I believe I've found my new playground in antique stores.
On the right is a sweet looking eight-track stereo that just boggled my mind. These stereos became a thing of the past in the early 1980's when I just a toddler. But I remember one of our neighbors who used to babysit me had an eight-track stereo in their son's car. It was an electronic marvel that was rapidly becoming obsolete during the dawn of the cassette tape. This particular model that I saw at the antiques store was in great shape, though I don't know who would buy it since it didn't come with any eight-track tapes. Though it looked pretty damn cool and perhaps that's enough for someone to purchase it.
The Rhode Island Antiques Mall has TWO expansive floors, and I was so overwhelmed by the number of items on all of the shelves and in display cases. I spent a little over an hour in the store. I usually detest window shopping, but I never felt the need to purchase anything at this place. I was content to mosey around and simply appreciate all the little pieces of history. I wanted to know the story behind them - who owned them and what were their lives like?
I left empty-handed. But I came away with something intangible: a new-found fascination. I definitely plan on stopping by more antique shops in the future. I do believe I've caught the antiques bug!
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