The Old Room

Last night we had a Sedar at my brother-in law's home. As usual, my sister-in-law did a superb job cooking the meal. My younger son and his family were also there. My brother-in-law has a phenomenal collection of antiques and memorabilia. There is more history in his "museum" than you can find in a history book. He is the curator of a wealth of Americana. My five year old grandson walked into the room and looked around. He was allowed to ring a large bell which made him excited. He recognized what certain items were. Later on in the evening, he asked me, "Why does Uncle Larry have so many old things in the room". I answered that he like to collect things. We all joked that the room was now going to be referred to as "The Old Room". After my grandson left for the evening we all sat around laughing at what he said. My sister-in-law then brought up a good question. How did my grandson know that the things were "old"? He had never seen them before, so at the very least, they were new to him. They could possibly have even been different, but why did he choose to say "old". What was the variable in his mind that differentiated old from new? We could not come up with the answer. Only he knows.