SALISBURY TWP., Pa. - Every family embraces, or at least tolerates, a pack rat.
Whether it’s a matter of a person with a few interesting collections neatly organized in the basement or a card-carrying hoarder, we know them, we love them, it’s who they are.
A few years ago, in a loving home in Salisbury Township, journalist, author and mom Margie Peterson noticed her son Tommy’s room was becoming less and less walkable.
One night, she took pen in hand and started describing the mess. Fabulously, it rhymed. The seed of "The Boy Who Never Threw Anything Out" was born.
- The real Tommy is a grown up man and is taking his new found fame very well
- Brother Danny, who was misplaced by Tommy in the story, is also a well adjusted adult
- The message of 'The Boy Who Never Threw Anything Out' is to 'reuse, repurpose and recycle'
Regarding the evolution of Tommy's collection of “stuff,” several factors played into the grand accumulation, Peterson explained.
“My parents lived through the Great Depression,” she said, “We were used to hand-me-downs and did our share of handing them down further.”
“We never felt deprived just because things were not new,” she said, “We preferred to spend our money on experiences, not stuff.”
Of particular note, on the subject of stuff, specifically the unusual experience of new stuff, Peterson explained that Tommy was completely enthralled with his first pair of new shoes when he was 5 years old.
Every day, after he came home from kindergarten, he would take off his new shoes and put them back in the box for the night. In the morning, he would again unbox them and hold them up to his nose and say, “Ah, the sweet smell of Kmart.”
“That’s how used to having old things he was,” Peterson said.
In the book, Tommy goes from having no space in his room to sleepwalk to trickier trouble: “Tommy started to lose things one after another, but his mom really got mad when he misplaced his brother.”
To the ultimate when his mom, “Started sending him meals by electric train, and he air-dropped dirty clothes by the way of toy plane.”
Tommy works through his stuff and the book ends well for all. And with a bit of a message.
Peterson began writing the story about 15 years ago. Then life happened–work, kids, all of it–and the story found its way to a drawer. Fast forward to the pandemic, when everyone had time on their hands, and the story again saw the light of day.
Crave Press, based in Leesport, Berks County, published “The Boy Who Never Threw Anything Out,” which was released on Sept. 6. It retails for $29.95 in hard cover and $19.95 in paperback.
“There’s no grand message to the story, but landfills are heartbreaking when so many things can be used again.”Margie Peterson, author of 'The Boy Who Never Threw Anything Out.'
A college friend of Peterson’s, Cheryl Bielli, illustrated the book, adhering to Peterson’s one request: She wanted the book family to look nothing like the actual family.
Together Peterson and Bielli are doing book readings at festivals and other venues on a bit of an occasional promotional tour.
“There’s no grand message to the story,” Peterson said, “But landfills are heartbreaking when so many things can be used again.”
When she autographs books, she reminds readers to “Reuse, repurpose and recycle.”
Tommy grew up and is now 27 years old, owns a video company in New York City and from time to time, teaches juggling. His mom credits Tommy’s girlfriend with his tendency toward the organization he now embraces.
Danny, 26, the little brother who Tommy misplaced in the book, continues to be amused by his fame. His favorite place to shop is Goodwill.
