Having grown up around a lot of older people, I got to experience life from their perspectives, some of which pre-dated 1900. My grandfather Kirk was born in 1889 in Dodge City, Kan., and so was probably about 65 by the time I was born, which was quite old in those days when people just did not live too long.

Because of our connections to Dodge City, I can recall that everyone out there called each other “kid.” No matter who you were or age of the person it was “hey kid” when you met. And since one of the things my family was noted for was their love of antiques, everything in their house was of old manufacture, including themselves.

From an early age we learned not to touch the round glass cabinet and were admonished with, “be careful kid, that's an antique” multiple times with each visit to their house. And true to form, Ol’ Dutch also has a certain appreciation for antiques of all sorts and am dangerous to take to any garage sale or auction as can be attested to by Miss Trixie. I just love that old stuff. Which got me to thinking — a dangerous pursuit according to Miss Trixie — about just what it takes for anything to be considered a true antique.

The Internet for sale sites is filled with stuff that is purported to be antique but mostly it's just old to the person who has it for sale. I know I had a 1967 Chevelle car one time and it was considered an antique and so I could get a cheap tag for it. Looking online it appears that now they say any car over 45 years old qualifies for that status.

But other things are antiques also and I love the old furniture especially the stuff made out of oak wood. Ol’ Dutch has a few items passed down from the family that are very old, so I know I am safe to assume they are truly of that status. And looking online, anything like that must be 100 years old to be considered an antique. So, there is a baseline that a person can at least measure against to assess the value of some “treasure” they keep.

After reading all about that age requirement, I got to thinking about all the stuff I see advertised online as “antique” for sale.  And I began to wonder just how in the wide, wide world of sports, people come up with the idea it is actually an antique? I think it may have to do with their age in fact and anything that they don't know what it is, or if it was produced before they were born then they call it that. It does not seem to matter if they are 40 or 85, that is the age they seem to use in classifying what they have for sale as antiques and pricing it accordingly.

I think the most interesting thing about collecting old stuff is if you think about it, all of it was thrown out way back when it was out of style and worn out and some poor person, who did not have a “dresser” took it home to use. They didn't think they had a treasure but were simply glad to have a drawer to put grandpa’s drawers in. Yep. Old worn-out junk. I guess the mere fact that it survived the trash bin now all these years later added value to it so now items that were sat on the curb are sometimes worth a lotta money.

Ol’ Dutch keeps trying to impress upon Miss Trixie of those facts and none more important than how my own personal value is skyrocketing with every birthday that I have. She often reminds me that she in fact found me sitting on the curb, so I need to consider my true value in that. But I do have solace in knowing that if I hang around long enough, I will reach the age of a true antique and my value will rise to meet my own opinion of my worth.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com.