Nancy Drew

[someplace]

Was anyone a fan? I read them as a pre-adolescent...I remember actually sneaking a flashlight to bed to continue reading (and being mildly scared) after lights-out. A few years ago I thought it would be a fun project to introduce my younger daughter. I thought it would be something we could share. I still had my books that an older friend of the family passed down to me. They were passed to her and were published in the 1930s and 1940s. My daughter and I spent months searching for the older volumes on Ebay that our collection was missing. They filled a bookshelf and a half.

Bluesy just informed me that when my daughter cleaned her room last week, she threw away a "bunch of old books" that she didn't want anymore. I ran to her room. The shelves are empty except for her beloved makeup. ONE of those books could have paid for most of her stupid makeup.

I am livid. I am hurt. I am in tears. What a complete waste.

 

[PepperminTrish]

I was a huge Nancy Drew fan when I was younger. It was one thing that I would have loved to have been able to share if I had had any daughters. I am so sorry that she tossed out all of those wonderful books.
*hugs*

 

[tyme]

I would be too! I am sorry she did that.

 

[RastaPope]

Was anyone a fan? I read them as a pre-adolescent...I remember actually sneaking a flashlight to bed to continue reading (and being mildly scared) after lights-out. A few years ago I thought it would be a fun project to introduce my younger daughter. I thought it would be something we could share. I still had my books that an older friend of the family passed down to me. They were passed to her and were published in the 1930s and 1940s. My daughter and I spent months searching for the older volumes on Ebay that our collection was missing. They filled a bookshelf and a half.

Bluesy just informed me that when my daughter cleaned her room last week, she threw away a "bunch of old books" that she didn't want anymore. I ran to her room. The shelves are empty except for her beloved makeup. ONE of those books could have paid for most of her stupid makeup.

I am livid. I am hurt. I am in tears. What a complete waste.

Damn kids, no appreciation for half-assd detective work.

My father made me read the Hardy Boys series back when I was a kid.

 

[someplace]

There were at least 40 of them and they were worth between $12 - $45 a volume. Besides the sentimental value. I can NOT believe she did that.

I have books EVERYWHERE in my house. Some of my older ones have their own glass-doored bookcase for protection. ANYONE who knows me would know that books are important to me. I make jokes about it. I have to get rid of this anger.

edited because I just checked on ebay and they're worth more than I thought.

 

[RastaPope]

There were at least 40 of them and they were worth between $12 - $30 a volume. Besides the sentimental value. I can NOT believe she did that.

I have books EVERYWHERE in my house. Some of my older ones have their own glass-doored bookcase for protection. ANYONE who knows me would know that books are important to me. I make jokes about it. I have to get rid of this anger.

Make her pay them off.

Or sell her to Arabs, lots of those around these days.

 

[someplace]

Right now I am considering making her replace the collection.

 

[bknight2602]

Sorry you lost your books. My mom threw out comic books that probably would be worth a small fortune now.

 

[someplace]

 

[someplace]

 

[someplace]

russell just sent me a PM that said:

breathe.



Okay. I'll try. It's just kind of the last fricking straw with my children. And poor Bluesy is walking around on eggshells after I vented upon hearing that he gave her permission to toss them (not really knowing what she was talking about). I shouted, "Look around. You couldn't get the idea that books are IMPORTANT to me?"

 

[roxanne69]

Someplace, as a Nancy Drew fan and a person who works in a used bookstore, you have my deepest sympathy. I notice you had the dust jackets and everything. I'm so sorry. I have never been able to throw a book out in my life but have donated many to the local library. My mom threw out a first edition poetry book I had by John McCrae (Flander's Fields) over 20 yrs ago and I'm still mad! Not to mention all the barbies she tossed too! GRRR!

I had the 60's version of the series (the ubiquitous yellow books) and I have fond memories of ticking off which ones I read on the back of one.

Try not to think about it. There's nothing that can be done and no one meant any harm.

*big hug*

Roxy

 

[Cheyenne]

She tossed old Nancy Drew books? I'd be having heart failure, too!

Yes, I read them as a young girl, much as you did. Not all of them though, only the ones my mom had saved from her own childhood.

I've made my close family members aware of what things are worth. The things I collect may not be obvious if you don't know their history. My worst fear would be a garage sale after my death! I don't care if they don't enjoy what I collect and they want to sell things to get money instead. But I'd like to think that the things I love would be sold to people who would appreciate them and love them, too. Those books your daughter tossed could have been in someone else's collection if she didn't want them! *sigh*

 

[AmberRayne]

I absolutely loved Nancy Drew books. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Bluesboy2]

I feel like an idiot

The daughter did this on MY watch. It was in the middle of the night last week. I stupidly didn't look carefully at what she was tossing out. I had NO IDEA what she was doing. And to be honest even if I had seen them I prolly wouldn't have known what they were.
Still, I should have questioned it. But I was blinded by the fact she was cleaning her room at all.
Now I feel like a complete idiot. I thought she was throwing out the crappy old paperbacks that have no value.

 

[someplace]

Okay, the shock is wearing off now. I've had an hour spent knitting on the bus to think about it. Yes, they were valuable in terms of rareness. Yes I'd had many of them for nearly 40 years and had lovingly packed and moved them everywhere I've lived in the United States. Yes, some were given to me by relatives now long gone and I thought of them as a connection to those people. None of that can be replaced, not really.

What upsets me the most is that my daughter KNEW these books were important and that didn't mean squat to her. That she is so completely and totally self-absorbed and uncaring for others' feelings simply boggles my mind. I don't care if she is nearly 15 and most teenagers are like that. It doesn't matter. That doesn't make it any more acceptable.

She made a comment the other day that we lived in the "poor" area. Bluesy about choked on his dinner that time. [We live in a six-year old, 2-story brick home in a nice neighborhood.] He asked me to drive her around to some "average" neighborhoods and show her how most of the world actually lives. I'm fed up with her talk of Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie (which I refuse to buy) and other such stuff. I've had it with selfish superficiality and decided how she's going to do to make up for throwing all these books away.

I'm going to have one of my teacher relatives find an underprivileged child in our area who is struggling with reading and I'm going to make that child my daughter's project. She is going to be a reading tutor, and help another learn to read.

 

[Freya]

Ouch, Someplace. I read all the Nancy Drew books as a child, and many of them were my mothers before me. So I can imagine exactly how you feel - especially since I too have one of those children that don't seem to care a hoot about things like that, nor take care of them when they have them.

That sounds like a great way to discipline her for what she did.

 

[perks]

It's unfortunate she had to throw something so valuable out.

However, I'm thinking, she should replace them, as her discipline, and do the other stuff<which is an incredible idea> because it is how people should behave,helping those less fortunate than ourselves. If the helping, and being considerate and understanding is her discipline, I'm not sure she'll be able to see or hear anything other than "being civic minded is punishment", right?

She's not thankful for what she has, that's a basic flaw in her fabric. I'm sure you'll do exactly what she needs to cure her of that.

 

[someplace]

Perky, you have a point. I'll have to think about it some more. I think it's in the presentation, but I'm not sure.

 

[perks]

Perky, you have a point. I'll have to think about it some more. I think it's in the presentation, but I'm not sure.

I mean, if she knew what those books meant to you, she was acting out towards you for some reason, yes? The trashing of the books is just a byproduct, of some sort of hurt or anger. Might want to check into that too.

If in fact it was just about being a clueless teenager, I'd be suprised. I was pretty pointed in my rebellion, and it was never without cause, from my perspective anyway.

I think there is just more than one thing to deal with here. I don't envy you, lol.

but I'll be doing this stuff with my daughter soon enough. < I think I'll start locking up my duck stuff now> *laughing*

good luch sugah, let me know how it goes. Maybe I can learn something from you.

 

[someplace]

Oh my God. Y'all could learn VOLUMES from me -- allllll what NOT to do.

Start by not having children.

 

[perks]

Oh my God. Y'all could learn VOLUMES from me -- allllll what NOT to do.

Start by not having children.

good thing I had a duckling, huh? *laughing*

 

[Nora]

S'okey, Someplace. My mom did it to me my first semester at college. She gave away a bunch of my books that I had put into boxes in my closet. They weren't ones I wanted to get rid of, just ones I didn't want currently on my shelves. The entire set of Trixie Belden books. About 16 early edition Nancy Drews.

I nearly beat her to death with a baseball bat when all she did was shrug and say, "well sorry. you should have marked the boxes."

Anyway, yes, it was rude and unthinking, but I sincerely doubt she meant any malice from it beyond the self-centered rationale of any 15 yr old.

 

[someplace]

After I married, my mother threw away all my saved love letters from boyfriends -- you know, the special ones that were tied in bundles with pretty ribbon. About 20 years later she apologized for it.

 

[someplace]

Okay, someone just sent this to me...

The First Parent
=================

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are
our own, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or whatever....
here is something to make you laugh. (Remember, this is a laugh!)

Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort
from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to
His own children. After creating heaven and earth, God created
Adam and Eve (his children).

The first thing he said was, "Don't!"

"Don't what?" Adam replied.

"Don't eat the forbidden fruit," God said.

"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit?
Hey, Eve. . . we have forbidden fruit!" "No way!" "Yes, way!"

"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why?"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied,
(wondering why he hadn't stopped creation after elephants).

A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break
and was He ticked!

"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" our first parent, God, asked.

"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said,
"Did not!" "Did too!" "DID NOT!
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that
Adam and Eve should have children of their own.
Thus, the pattern was set and it has never changed!

But there is assurance in this story.
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children
wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it
would be a piece of cake for you?

Advice for the day:
If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it
says on the aspirin bottle:
"Take two Aspirin" and "Keep away from children."

You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk
and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit
down and shut-up.

Grandchildren are God's reward to you for not killing your children.

Mothers of teens know why some animals eat their young.

Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word
for word what you shouldn't have said.

The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind
yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

We child proofed our home 3 years ago and they're still getting in!

Be nice to your kids.
Someday, they'll choose your nursing home.

Author Unknown