In a world seemingly too busy for the small stuff, collectibles don’t have to be a thing of the past.

Nor do they all necessarily have to possess some form of intrinsic value to bask in their sheer enjoyment.

Recently, I had the good fortune of interviewing a Lehighton woman who wrote a comic book “Duplicant.”

Karla Nappi’s work is a thriller about the forces conspiring against the one man who offers hope during a pandemic. (Side note: The story on Nappi’s comic book appears in today’s Spotlight section.)

After our interview, I reflected on how I used to collect various forms of memorabilia.

Back in the day, I used to collect comic books. As a young tyke, I could hardly wait to walk to the then Krex’s Store in Palmerton, where I would saunter on over to the comic book rack.

Let’s just say this at-that-time young lad was all in when it came to Marvel Comics.

Personal favorite: Justice League of America.

Turns out comic books weren’t the only collectibles I couldn’t wait to get my hands on.

Sports cards were also a collectible for which I gained an ardent passion for, particularly full sets of Topps baseball cards.

What made it even cooler was when my parents would buy me a binder with plastic sheets to stick the cards in.

Personal favorite: 1987 Topps baseball set.

As a child who grew up in the ’80s, Atari, GI Joes, He-Man & The Masters of The Universe, LJN WWF wrestling figurines and Transformers were among my guilty pleasures.

And while I didn’t necessarily “collect” them, I also went through my fair share of Trapper Keepers and Rubik’s Cubes. Even had one black pair of Air Jordans, which of course made me think I could one day be like Mike.

Scrapbooking is another form of collecting I used to partake in.

I used to enjoy being able to preserve old photographs and/or achievements.

Plus, organizing them in that manner beat storing them in a box.

Perhaps most important of all, the hobby allows us to preserve memories for future generations.

Often, it isn’t until later in life that we truly appreciate the sentimental value those memories can hold.

Because as we all come to realize as the years go by, the most cherished memories can’t be traded or sold.