“By necessity, we all quote”

Yesterday I wrote a post in this space about the passing of my dog, and I opened with a picture of my dog and a quote about how regrettably short a dog’s life can be. I’ve always been one who enjoys a good quote, something so profound that I wish I had said it myself.

6 years, and how many more?

Six years ago, I had a story to tell. Actually, I had already told the story, just as I had a hundred times before, by sitting down in front of a computer and typing away. Most of the stories I had told before never saw the light of day. I had either abandoned them halfway

What the future holds

Whenever I go to an estate sale, I invariably head toward the basement. My experience is that anything I might want to buy can be found there. And today was no exception. I found the bookshelves in the basement, and quickly perused the titles. There was nothing I wanted to buy, but the one title

An estate sale find

I go to estate sales when I find them, and sometimes I find interesting things at them. Whether this one counts as interesting or not, I wanted to say a few words about it anyway. I wouldn’t know where to find a coffee mug like this in the modern world, at least when it comes

A weird and wonderful baseball card

I have written about baseball cards on this blog from time to time, because they inspire me on occasion. But I’m not at all a believer in the idea that they have any actual monetary value. They’re fun to have, but they aren’t worth the cardboard or cardstock that they’re printed on, either. Yesterday at

He was the villain

Saturday morning, Lincolnwood, Illinois This morning I find myself at an estate sale. I’ve visited them before, and written about them before, and today is more of the same: picking through the worldly possessions of someone who’s no longer worldly. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, over and over again in Slaughterhouse-Five, “So it goes.” I come

Something from another time and place

There’s a reason I go to estate sales. There are several reasons, really, but one of the biggest is that I like looking for unusual things. And if I can get them for cheap, so much the better. Today was just such an example. A man with an apparent love for all things Vegas must

Making a circle of flags

Earlier this week, I spent a day with some colleagues at work, making cards to send to soldiers who are stationed overseas. We began the day with a stack of blank sheets of cardstock, and ended up with many dozens of brightly-colored greetings. Or at least they had the potential to become greetings, because the

Paying the price

Over the weekend, my young daughter had a swimming lesson at a park district pool here in Chicago. As she was in the water, I had a chance to do a bit of wandering, and before I knew it I found myself in a used bookstore that I hadn’t known about before. My love for

Hey yo, Apollo

I’ve always wanted to write something about Apollo Creed. The Rocky movie series (some call it a franchise, but I prefer series because it sounds less like a business that way) was dependent upon this character. The first movie told the story of a bum fighter, more of a street thug really, who was chosen

Those days are gone forever

My car was in the shop this afternoon for some routine maintenance. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, and they were probably busier than they are during the week, I was told it would be an hour and a half before the car was ready. At this point, I could either sit in the waiting

A different reaction this time

At some point last summer, I went to a garage sale on a Friday afternoon and found the helmet that appears on the top right corner of all my posts. I was so happy to find it that I wrote about it, and even named my blog after it. Strange? Yes, I suppose it is.

“Next year” never came for him

Today I went to an estate sale with a friend. I’ve written about them before, and being at one is different from going to a yard sale or a garage sale. As I get older, and realize that everyone’s time on this earth is limited, I also appreciate the opportunity to take a peek into

Triple shot

My teenager had a skating lesson today, and I went out in search of some Starbucks as it was going on. It was more of a day for iced coffee, instead, but old habits are hard to break. I was on my way back to the skating rink when I saw a garage sale sign.

That old time rock and roll

The first thing that ever moved me to type something up and put it out for the world to consider was  a plastic batting helmet that I bought at a garage sale. I wrote something about it, started this blog, and now every time someone finds their way to this space, there it is on

The future of books

If I haven’t admitted this before, I love having books. I enjoy reading them, but there’s also something about surrounding yourself with lots of books. I think it makes a statement about valuing the written word. I frequently go to yard sales and book fairs, searching for old books that I can buy for a

Hanu-Cubs, Night 1

Hanukah begins tonight, and I wanted to put my collection of Cubs baseball cards to work to commemorate the season. In order to do this, I have brought out a ceramic menorah that was purchased at a garage sale many years ago. If I was actually Jewish, I’d probably have a better one to use for

Party like it’s 1986

The 1985 Bears are having a pretty good season. The 2011 Bears? Not so much. After the Bears won the Super Bowl in 1986, they were going to the White House to meet with President Ronald Reagan when the space shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff in Florida. I still remember finding out about it in

Three historical relics, two of them unopened

I went to a church rummage sale at just the right time last weekend. To clear everything out, they offered a shopping bag for three dollars, which could then be filled up with whatever you could fit in it. When I went to the books section, I found a boxed set of Bruce Springsteen Live 1975-1985

Mini BlueBattingHelmets available!

I went to a church rummage sale this weekend and was able to procure a few mini blue Cubs helmets. Since I have one already, I wanted to share my good fortune with those who read this blog. Here’s what I’ll do: If you leave a comment below with the name of your favorite ballplayer,

Once somebody loved me

The saddest three minutes I’ve ever seen in a movie takes place in Toy Story 2. If you’ve you already seen it, and you read the title to this post, you know exactly what part I’m talking about, but if you haven’t, a brief set-up is required. Toy Story was an animated film series (they’ve made

Probably just as well

I wrote about my fondness for garage sales in the very first post here. On most weekends, it’s hard to drive very far without seeing a sign for a yard sale or a garage sale. And going to them is fun because it costs nothing, and offers a chance to find something interesting. One man’s

A short story to start things off

I wrote a story about something I picked up at a garage sale last week.  So how does one get their thoughts out to the world nowadays? By putting it on a blog, right? So I started a blog to put this (and future musings) out there for whoever might care to read it. And