Feelings for an Object

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I read a post not too long ago about feelings that many of us with autism have for objects in the material world. It's as if some of us feel like certain objects have feelings. We may know that objects don't have feelings, but yet there is something that tells us they do. My question is:

Is there some particular object that you do not own that you worry about?

For example, one of mine is the Swamp Fox roller coaster in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. If it were ever torn down, I would feel deeply saddened. But so far, it's future seems bright. It still exists today partly because of my obsession for it.

In the late 1980's, after already having befriended the owner of the amusement park, he was putting the Swamp Fox up for sale because he had decided to sell the property for condominium development. He said there just wasn't enough business at his park since the Pavilion Amusement Park up the road was so much more popular. I decided to take action. I met with him and told him to contact the American Coaster Enthusiasts and persuade them to send a team to ride the Swamp Fox and perhaps see if it was as thrilling as I thought it was. As luck would have it, there was a team available traveling nearby. They came to the park, rode it, and was greatly impressed with this relatively unknown 1966 roller coaster. They ranked it in the top ten wooden roller coasters in America. This caused publicity for the park and a motion picture was even scheduled to use the park for some film scenes. The movie was Shag. Because of weather, scenes were not filmed there. But the park was more famous. The owner still wanted to sell. And because of the extra publicity of the Swamp Fox, the Sea Mist Resort Hotel bought the park and decided to rename it Family Kingdom. They restored the Swamp Fox (it had been damaged in Hurricane Hugo in 1989) and it's still open and thriving to this day. So I feel like I may have helped saved the my favorite roller coaster's life. I have always felt attached to it.

Can you relate to this? Do you have such an object in your life? If so, could you share your experience with it?

I have feelings for my router. It flashes little green lights. When my room is darkened, those lights show up, like little peas.

My "things" have always had a greater value and been more important to me than people, by a long shot. I never could understand people who fell in love or would become obsessed with people, for instance. My sister was like that, really bad, and I always tried to convince her to get a hobby, you know, to save herself. She still to this day has very few worldly objects, interests or hobbies outside her needy infatuations with major losers. I don't understand it and never will, anymore than she or anyone like her would ever understand me. I guess that went off topic...sorry.

I am not an extremely object person, however there are a few things I do feel strongly about. Like Cockney, I feel strongly about my computer. To the point that I view my computer a person. <---yeah yeah I know.
My computer talks to me and I talk to it. When its lights go out I feel sad and afraid something will happen to it. I also don't feel I am typing. I call it "telepathy". My fingers are only sending energy to my computer. <---okay yes, strange...I know...but whatevs. I'm working on it

I also have attachment to a wall in my city. It has a painting on it with all these colors. It isn't of people thank god. But all the colors and the bumps of the walls have patterns and I love seeing new things with the colors and the patterns. It makes me happy to see it. If it was torn down I'd cry.

It's hard for me to identify, when it comes to feelings, but I would have to say I do have a great deal of feeling when it comes to some of my belongings, particularly with some of my collections which I do admire quite a lot.

Hi CockneyRebel---I agree with having feelings for the router---it's very important too. Mine is kept in the family room, so I don't see it in the dark too often. When we had to upgrade to a different router, I didn't let the phone company take the old one away. I put in a box and kept it.

Hi Meadow---From my understanding, this is a fairly common trait in those of us with AS/autism. Like you, I have always placed great importance on the objects in my life. It's like some things become part of the family. I think your discussion was on topic.

Hi Clyde---I think that is neat about your feelings for your computer. I still have all my computers---all the way back to the Texas Instruments TI99-4A from the early 1980's---I feel like they had feelings too. I understand what you mean about the wall.

Hi Clyde, there are computers all over the place at my house. My first internet computer I now keep at my parents' house. But I have had a lot of memories with those old computers. I do fight with my Dell laptop though---but I won't get rid of it. But I do plan on getting another one to take its place.

Thanks Clyde, that cartoon is very cute and funny. And quite a bit accurate too.

Now that I think about it, I can get personal with this stuff sometimes...

Although it's a concept that's not new or AS-related, I don't think I could part with some of my musical instruments. Like... I own them, but we've been through a lot of time practicing and passion for music, I guess I could say I have feelings for them. I make fun of my keyboard since it's synthesizer tones are great, but it's piano tones are ugly or horrible compared to a real piano - and yet, I wouldn't want to ever give it away. I purchase equipment at used music instrument stores, but I would never sell something of mine there.

The odd thing is, while I feel close to my instruments, I haven't given them names, which is fairly common in the music word... such as B.B. King's favorite guitar, he named Lucille. SORRY INSTRUMENTS! ;-; I want to give them names now, but that just seems awkward... what would I name my Bass Guitar? It would be really awkward to give it a guy's name in my case, and what kind of girl's name would I give a bass guitar? Err....

Anyways, I'd feel this way with other audio equipment, like stereo systems and cd players, amplifiers and effects, etc...

I can get this way with a few other things, such as video game systems. If my Gamecube that I've been using for ~8 years just stops working all of a sudden (It almost did once!), I don't care if I can still play those games on the Nintendo Wii, I'll freak out about it! I wouldn't want to part with this stuff.

I agree with you Dnuos. That's cool you are into synths/keyboards---me too. My obsession is for the old analog ones. I have about 30 synthesizers now, mostly in the vintage range. I also have 3 Hammond console organs and 2 pianos. I love keyboards. I did name one of my Hammond organs Gladys. Thanks for sharing---I can definitely relate. I see you are from Ohio too.

well, when i first got my kettle i named it scourge, i talk to it sometimes while im bowling water. I don't do deep conversations or anything weird but like "Morning scourge" or "Hey" or when its over-boiling i would apologize to it, small talk some would say
ha ha (yeah, i guess i sound pretty dumb) but scourge is not the only inanimate object I talk to, everyone thinks I'm just fooling around but I'm not :(
I've always been like this, so i guess i consider it 'normal' for myself when i know it isn't


picture of scourge cause I'm bored :]

Hi Meliev and thank you for posting a picture of Scourge. That is neat. You will probably always keep that tea kettle. It's like we give our objects life by how we regard and treat them.

Having feelings for objects is becoming a big issue for me. I have recently got a new computer, and I've shoved my old one in the bottom of my wardrobe, because I ''feel sorry'' for it, like I would a person. When a house is burning down, I ''feel sorry'' for the house. When a boat sinks I ''feel sorry'' for the boat. It's driving me mad! I feel sorry for people, animals and insects too, but in a different way. Like if someone dies, it makes me cry or feel very sad, and I think about the people left behind and feel so sorry for them (which is normal). But I also feel sorry for objects, but in a different sort of way which is hard to describe, even in my head. Just think of an umbrella, for example. The manufacturers made the umbrella for people to put up when it's raining, to keep them dry, then they put it down again when they get indoors, and put it in a cupboard or something. Some umbrellas have nice patterns or designs on, to make people like them and think they're pretty. But if, say, I saw somebody whacking somebody else over the head with one, I would ''feel sorry'' for it, because it's not meant to be used to whack people over the head with. It's meant to keep you dry on rainy days. That's what the manufacturers made it for. It's just an innocent umbrella, used to give people the full benefit against rain. And as for the person being whacked over the head with the umbrella, I would feel sorry for them too, and I would feel like saving the person and the umbrella. Ohh, it's too complicated to explain!