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Collector to convert hobby into food
By Chick Jacobs,
Staff writer
Fayetteville Observer
The stars shine just as brightly from
their Hollywood haze. The sports stars are still in their
prime, grinning behind protective layers of plastic at adoring fans.
Nothing about them has changed. Yet, everything about them has changed.
After a life of collecting, Jeffery Allen
isn't able to explain the difference. All he knows is the smiles, the
adoration, none of it matters as much as knowing a child can sleep with
a full stomach.
“These things just don't mean that much
to me now,” said Allen, waving his arm in a long, swooping arc around
his snug living room. If the folks assembled were real, he'd have quite
a dinner party -- Bogie and Bacall hold court on one side of the room,
eyeing a rare color ad for a Volkswagon mini-van.
Generals Lee, McArthur and Patton are
plotting strategy in the kitchen, and if you listen closely, you might
hear Erroll Flynn and the Beatles in the bedroom.
Such a small place. So many memories.
So much need.
That's why next weekend, Allen plans to sell
as much of his years of accumulated stuff as possible. Hundreds of
collectibles from sports, movies, magazine and music will be offered,
with all the proceeds going to benefit Fayetteville Urban Ministry.
Why? Allen answers the question with
another question: Why not?
“What shall it profit a man if he gains all
the collectibles in the world, but loses his soul?” said Allen, placing
a personal spin to the words from the Gospel of Mark. “I have all this
stuff, and there are people who can't find food to eat. When you look at
it that way, how can I not? How can anyone not?”
So, if one man's trash is another man's
treasure, can't it also be someone's meal?
“Exactly,” he said. “Convert collectibles
into food.”
Allen's collectibles will be part of a
midwinter show at the Crown Expo Center on Feb. 12. His won't be the
only items there, and it's not just for faith-based items. Collectors
across the Southeast will be offering everything from old toys to coins
to Barbie dolls and Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
The event will also feature Dunn native and
former Negro League pitcher Clifford Layton, who will be signing
memorabilia to benefit aging Negro League players.
“We had him appear at a show a while
back, and he was a wonderful person,” said Ray Mozingo, the show
sponsor. Mozingo has donated the table space for Allen and Layton.
“They are both involved in work for worthy
causes,” Mozingo added. “It might look like the same business as the
other people there, but there's a difference.”
That difference for Allen is as clear as
the signature on a handwritten note from George W. Bush -- which he'll
be selling as well.
“He's doing something worthwhile, something
that could really take off,” said Rusty Long, director of Fayetteville
Urban Ministry. “It's an interesting concept. We've always taken
donations from people, food and clothing. But the idea of taking
collectibles and turning them into help for the needy is one that seems
to spark people.”
And, Allen says, when people consider how
much potential aid for the needy is lost to the landfill, it's
heartbreaking.
“There are incredibly valuable items, things
people have no idea of their worth, and they're throwing them away,” he
said. “It could be turned into food. Collectors would be happy, the
hungry would be happy, certainly the environment would benefit.
“The object is to get as many people as
possible involved. They can donate; they can buy. That's one of the
wonderful things about it. Times are tough, I know. But just think of
the things lying around, taking up space that could be sold to people
who really want it. There's no great sacrifice in donating it. It
doesn't create hardship. It creates opportunity to make the world a
better place.”
Allen will be doing his part. A quick
perusal of items he's prepared reveals autographs by Betty Grable and
Clark Gable, special black-culture items, and Christian-themed
collectibles -- including the first “Keep Christ in Christmas” promotion
in a magazine.
“The irony is an ad attached to the page
is selling watches with the question, 'Is it better to give or
receive?'” Allen said, shaking his head.
Collectible items donated to Fayetteville
Urban Ministry next week will be added to the sale. And for those
looking for a more secular reason to give, the donations are
tax-deductible.
“We can accept old comic books, records,
whatever people would like to offer,” Long said. “For the grownups, it's
a great chance to clean out some closets and know you're doing it for a
good cause.”
“You can collect and collect, but what's
going to happen in the end with all that?” Allen asked. “Look around.
They say you can't take it with you, and I couldn't even squeeze much of
this in my casket.
“The Gospel of Luke said, 'Of those to
whom much has been given, much is expected.' I think it's time people in
Fayetteville take that to heart. It's such a little thing that can help
so many people.”
Allen expects to come home from the sale
with a cleaner house and a happier heart. But there are a few
collectibles he won't part with -- at least not yet.
One is a relatively nonvaluable baseball
card of Washington Senator pitcher Chuck Stobbs. Stobbs was a pitcher
for the Washington Senators whose dubious claim to fame was giving up
the first major league tape-measure home run to Mickey Mantle.
“He's the last of my original baseball card
collection,” Allen said. “And I keep it to remember we're all part of
something bigger than ourselves.”
And, if things go well at the sale,
something better than our stuff. [top]
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