Carol Feldman, a retired instructional aide from Imperial Beach, doesn't eat frog legs. “It would seem a little sacrilegious of me,” she said.
JOHN R. McCUTCHEN / Union-Tribune
Carole Feldman's frog collection, originally inspired by a frog-related nightmare, fills a room of her home.
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This started with a nightmare. I used to have a big aquarium. I dreamt I had some frogs in there, and they got out and one of them ate me. He was sitting in the middle of my front room, with me inside, and people were coming in and taking all my stuff. “Oh, she's gone. She's never coming back.” And I'm in there yelling, “Help! Help! I'm right here!”
I told a friend about the dream, and for my birthday she had a frog party as a joke. Everybody brought frog gifts. That was in 1977. As you can see, it's gotten a little out of hand.
I used to have frogs all over the house, but my husband said, “Can't we kind of confine this to one room?” My son, he's 25 now – this used to be his nursery. Now it's the frog room.
There's not much you could mention that I don't have. Stuffed frogs, frog games, frog watches, frog shirts. The light-switch plate is a frog. A six-pack of Bad Frog Beer. No live frogs – yet. I have tadpoles in the fish pond out back. It's the first time I've ever done that.
You never know where you're going to find them. There's a place in downtown San Diego that has stuff from buildings that have been torn down. I got this tile of a frog (mixing medicine). I was told it came out of an old apothecary shop. It's a treasure.
This big wooden carved frog is one of my favorites. My sister bought it at an antique store in Michigan. My nephew wrapped it in a sheet and put it on the back seat of his car and transported it out here. He was afraid he was going to get stopped and the police were going to think it was a body.
People enjoy giving them to me more than I enjoy getting them. It's always like this: “I know you don't need any more frogs, but I saw this one and didn't know if you had it. It's the last one I'm ever going to buy.” And next thing you know, here they come again, saying, “Well, I saw this frog.”
I have frogs piled on frogs, and dusting is a problem. So I have a rule in here: If you pick something up to look at it, you have to put it back in the same dust spot. And no complaining about dirty hands.
It's overwhelming but it's fun. I keep saying I'm going to stop. But then always another frog hops in.
Carol Feldman was interviewed by Union-Tribune staff writer John Wilkens. If you have an interesting collection, contact Wilkens at (619) 293-2236 or at john.wilkens@uniontrib.com.
