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My mother had an earring collection that didn’t stop. I think she could wear a different pair every day for six months and never repeat. For special dressy occasions I used to borrow her long crystal earrings. For many years I resisted the temptation to collect earrings. She had the clip-ons or the ones that screwed into my ears and by the end of the night my ears hurt so badly I never really wanted to have any. Then I had my ears pierced. That’s when things started to get crazy and the earring collection started. First there were the conservative earrings. You know the ones. Little studs for each hole. I didn’t have the standard ear piercing. When I went for it, I had two in each ear. I didn’t want to have to go and do it again. My friend, who went with me to lend support, exclaimed, “Good grief. I meant one. Not two!” But being the compulsive-obsessive one I had the two done. It’s good I did. I liked the two look, but would have never gone back. Despite what they said, it does hurt, especially the second one. Then the collection was off and running. Most people collect postcards or cups (I used to do that too) when they travel. But getting a cup home from England was a bit of a challenge. So I settled for a pair of earrings… the cameos. Somewhat conservative and representative of staid England. A pair of what looks like aqua birds in flight came from Arizona. There was also the pair of silver and turquoise I got from that trip, too. There were several more, too, from that trip across the Southwest. One pair of dream catchers was from a reservation in Texas. On my trip to the Northwest the polar bear symbols and Native American symbols for bear joined the burgeoning collection. The otters joined on a trip to the Aquarium in Monterey, California and the whales when I saw Koko at the one in Oregon. When I went to the Smithsonian I really didn’t want to have the Hope Diamond. It’s too gauche. I would have preferred the huge piece of emerald that was there. I settled for a pair of earrings crafted by native craftsmen in Peru. A couple pairs commemorate a trip to New York City one Fourth of July. There are several pairs that are presents. One pair is the ones my friend had shipped and redirected all over Nevada for my birthday. He even called one of my friends in the middle of the night to see whether I had pierced ears or not. (It was in the early days of our friendship.) A couple of the pairs came from students who made them especially for me. And another three pairs were from students who went on a shopping spree during a debate trip in Las Vegas and brought me back earrings. That’s about the time the earring collection outgrew the commercial holders. In order to display them, I had to make my own holder. And the collection still grows. My friend has added moose earrings, among others, and I still find a pair from time to time that catches my fancy. I have become my Mother. However, unlike her, my collection is out on display and not hidden away in a jewelry box. It has come with me across the country when the cup collection had to be left behind. It’s my wearable art. It will continue to grow as I carry my remembrances of friends, family and places on my ears.
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