Object Diaries
Stories About Human Connection Told One Secret Object at a Time.
Object Diaries
Stan's Toys
Some people seem to hold on tightly to things. Others could throw most everything away. I'm a bit of a hoarder. I hold on to a lot of objects because they remind me of people I care about. And I just can't let go.
I trace a lot of my obsession with objects to my father who died of cancer in 2023.
I sat down with him, before he got really sick, to talk about a toy collection that meant a lot to both of us.
Through talking about his toys, I learned a lot about my father, and myself.
This episode was produced by Jessica Terrell, April Estrellon, and Lisa Weiss. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
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Bring an Object Diaries workshop to your community or workplace. Foster connection, engagement, and belonging through a modern version of childhood "show and tell."
All this stuff here, I pretty much got for nothing. I have an Oscar Mayer whistle, and I got a lot of little plastic toys and plastic soldiers. I've got a lot of things now, way more things than I need. But these hearken me back to a time when I didn't have much at all.
Lisa Weiss:This is Object Diaries. Stories about human connection, told one secret object at a time. I'm Lisa Weiss. Some people seem to hold on tightly to things. Others could throw most everything away. I'm a bit of a hoarder. I hold on to a lot of objects because they remind me of people I care about. And I just can't let go. Like this Send in the Clowns music box my dad got me when I was five or six years old. I'm fascinated by the connection between objects and memory. What people choose to keep and why. I trace my fascination with objects to my dad and our relationship.
Stan Weiss:One, two, three. Soldiers, yo yos, and baseball cards.
Lisa Weiss:That's my dad, Stan Weiss. You heard him at the start of this episode. He died of cancer in 2023. I sat down with him before he got really sick to talk about a toy collection that meant a lot to both of us.
Stan Weiss:A lot of kids have much bigger collections than this, but these are mine. I collected them when I was 9, 10, 11, 8. all those young years, and I've had them all this time. I've had them for 66 years.
Lisa Weiss:I wouldn't call my dad a hoarder, but he collected things. Old stamps, miniature marionettes, magnifying glasses. The object I was most fascinated by was this old cigar box filled with his childhood treasures. It was a small cardboard box with a white owl pictured on the lid. My favorite is a little light bulb that glows in the dark. It's the size of a pea.
Stan Weiss:I have a couple of sets of playing cards that are hooked together with a staple. Nobody ever played with these cards because they're so small, they're unworkable. I also have a magnifying glass. Here's two sets of false teeth. Here's a little postman. Here's an axe.
Lisa Weiss:My dad was an accountant. He cared a lot about providing for his family. He was warm and funny and generous and incredibly hardworking, and he was gone. A lot. I craved his attention. And one way that I could always get it was asking him to sit down on a Sunday afternoon with that cigar box and tell me about his childhood treasures.
Stan Weiss:I had so many nifty things. I have I have two little knives here that were my Cub Scout knives. You know, they're black, they're still in decent shape. I also have my Duncan yo yo with the four rhinestones.
Lisa Weiss:He could do all the fancy yo yo tricks. Walk the dog, rock the baby, around the world. He used to spin the yo yo around for me, and I was transfixed.
Stan Weiss:We used to have yo yo demonstrations at school where the professionals would come out and on stage and they would Just throw two yo yos at once, and they would show us all these tricks, so I always had a nice yo yo.
Lisa Weiss:The best part of sitting down with my dad and examining the whistles and baseball cards and miniature magnifying glasses was listening to the stories he would tell while we played. It was almost like an adult version of show and tell. There was this uncomplicated joy that he had while holding his toys. And it made me feel connected to him. It helped me see glimmers of beauty and what hadn't always been an easy childhood.
Stan Weiss:When I was a little boy, I was five years old. My dad took all of his savings and bought a grocery store. And he never really made that much money in this store. A lot of people took advantage of the fact that he was a very kindly guy about giving credit. And he always felt if he gave credit, people would come. And when they got their paychecks, they would pay it down and pay him off. But it never worked out that well because a lot of times he wound up getting stiffed.
Lisa Weiss:My grandfather, who we called Papa, was an immigrant with a thick Hungarian accent that people had a hard time understanding. He was kind. Papa was severely hard of hearing since childhood, and though never diagnosed, he likely had a severe learning disability, too. My dad said a lot of people treated Papa with a kind of disrespect that was painful to witness. He worked hard, but never got paid much, except for a few years during World War II when he was able to get a job at the steel mill because so many other workers were in the service. He spent those years saving the money to open a mom and pop grocery store.
Stan Weiss:And in the five years that he owned that store, my parents didn't really make very much income. My mother wound up having to go to work at Goldblatt's to get a paycheck.
Lisa Weiss:Goldblatt's is a now defunct chain of discount stores.
Stan Weiss:She worked part time in the store and part time at Goldblatt's. And my dad was there seven days a week. He was open every day and he never made what I would consider a decent living.
Lisa Weiss:The toys in his box were all giveaways from the store or cereal box prizes.
Stan Weiss:We did not have a lot of money when I was growing up. So whenever I could, I would accumulate my own money and buy my own things.
Lisa Weiss:When my dad talks about his toys, there's a clear sense of independence, pride, and ownership. He knew he'd had to do most things for himself, and he was proud of it.
Stan Weiss:I had a paper route when I was 10, and I made four dollars a week delivering the Herald American and the Daily News. Nobody ever really thought about who had anything or who didn't have anything. As we grew older, we realized that we were not exposed to some of the things that a lot of the big city and fancy people dealt with. So we were happy to play around and, you know, trade baseball cards. If we had a nickel, we'd get some bubble gum.
Lisa Weiss:My dad once told me that if he were a tree, he would want to be an apple tree, a tree that bore fruit. He wanted something to give to other people, and specifically his family. He really was an apple tree for us, and for me that cigar box was a seed. A seed of connection to my dad, and a way that I came to understand the man he became.
Stan Weiss:A lot of the time, I have the feeling that these toys in some way describe my attention to my past. I recognize where I came from, and I recognize things that were important to me throughout my life. And I don't forget those things.
Lisa Weiss:Objects capture fleeting moments in time. They can help us remember hidden parts of ourselves, and they can help us share those parts of ourselves with others. My dad didn't think these tiny treasures were going to mean much to his family.
Stan Weiss:I feel that I've kept them for all these years, and I know that Once I'm gone, most other people aren't going to pay much attention to it. That's just the way life is. That stuff, because I know to most people, it's a lot of junk. But to me, it was interesting. It was interesting in my whole life.
Lisa Weiss:He was wrong about one thing. To me, these toys will always be treasures. They helped me understand who my dad really was. And in many ways, who I am. They helped me understand how objects can help people connect. And after we lost my dad to cancer in 2023, these toys set me off on a journey to find more everyday objects that hold the key to extraordinary personal stories. I'm Stan Weiss's daughter, Lisa, and this is Object Diaries, stories about human connection One secret object at a time.
Gabrielle Blackwell:I found the journal at eight years old. I believed it until I was 27. I had this truth that was actually a lie.
Lisa Weiss:Stories about mothers and daughters.
Pamela Blackwell:That diary is probably one of the only things that has been in her life. From conception to now
Lisa Weiss:about family secrets,
Pamela Blackwell:I would pray all the time like, Oh, God, please forgive me. Please forgive me. Please forgive me.
Lisa Weiss:And how a simple piece of paper can help set someone free.
Imran Mohammad Fazal Hoque:It gave me a purpose. It helped me to survive.
Lisa Weiss:Do you own a secret object that carries a powerful story beyond nostalgia? I'm looking for objects that tell the true story of who you are and who you care about. A lost love where only a bracelet remains, a map found in the attic, a lock of hair. Objects that bring deep stories along with them, stories about the things that bind us and even tear us apart. Visit objectdiaries. com to share your story and hear more episodes of this podcast.
