Estate Sales & the Culture of a House

Estate Sale - Blue Danube China - Cartoon.JPG

A couple of years ago, a favorite pastor gave a sermon that I never forgot, because I remember the message every time my wife and I visit an estate sale.

Specifically, our pastor was discussing “The Culture of a House.” He of course discussed the culture of the Lord’s house, as it varies among congregations, pastors, and communities. But he also spoke of what he has learned and observed from visiting the homes of parishioners…specifically that there is a culture to each and every home.

He said that he can generally discern if he is in a house full of love and laughter, or if there is tension and discord. The parishioner playing host to the pastor may apologize for the clutter and disarray, but the clutter and disarray still tends to reveal the culture of the house. It might be joyful clutter from a family with boisterous children, or it might be the clutter from someone whose life is slipping out of control. A house will also generally reveal if the family lives with Jesus as part of their lives, or if they just visit Jesus at church on Sundays.

My wife and I have visited many estate sales over the course of our marriage, and although we are now in our 50s and aren't necessarily looking to acquire any more belongings, we still enjoy going to them. At every estate sale we attend, I recall that sermon from our pastor about the culture of a house.

I am absolutely fascinated by the biography I can piece together of the non-celebrities who once occupied a house. I don't feel I'm being voyeuristic, instead I find the life-story of non-celebrities so much more interesting than that of celebrities. They loved, they married, they accumulated treasures and built gardens, they traveled, they raised families, and they became beloved grandparents. They had triumphs and heartbreaks, and if they were people of faith, their home will probably reflect that too.

Meanwhile, my wife is fascinated by design and architecture. There is the original construction of the house, which is generally a reflection of the period when it was constructed, followed by the renovations and furnishings. The era when furnishings were acquired and the styles chosen will lend a defining signature as to certain aspects of the people who lived there. Their habits and tastes also constituted a small input into the greater American culture that they were a part of.

The careers and hobbies of the owners are usually evident, and often overlap. Sometimes the hobbies clearly became obsessions, resulting in an abundance of collectibles, trinkets, and baubles to be disposed of.

The books and memorabilia will usually disclose the careers of those who inhabited that space. Handwritten notes on the inside cover of a book, or an old letter contained therein, are the yesteryear equivalent of social media interaction with writers and public figures.

Landscaping and gardens interest me, since I have spent much of my life involved in both, sometimes as a job and sometimes as a hobby. The plants that are grown and how the grounds have been landscaped will quickly reveal whether a yard service was hired for maintenance, or if the owners lovingly devoted their own time to the yard and gardens. Personalized gardens will also tend to reveal the length of the owners’ decline. Where I see crumbling paths and beds with weeds overtaking perennials, I can also picture the beautiful gardens and the loving attention once given to them. But it is a reminder of the ultimate power of nature. Neither our mortal flesh nor our gardens and creations are permanent.

Life’s impermanence is part of the poignancy of visiting an estate sale. The house will usually reveal a final round of acquisitions, be it flooring, appliances, or conveniences. And then it all stops. No one knew it at the time, but this is figuratively where some people stopped actively living. And for some, this is where they started to die.

The heirs who are selling off the belongings are often in attendance. Some are ebullient as the scene unfolds. It’s a social occasion, and a house that has recently only known quiet is suddenly full of people, including many old friends and acquaintances, validating the special life of the deceased, whose belongings will once again hold value to those still living. Perhaps their good cheer is in part because they’ve been eager for the final burden of the estate to be lifted.

But sometimes family members are somber. The estate sale serves a purpose that is not unlike a funeral, driving home the fact that the loved one is really gone, never to return.

Real Clear published a tender article recently about estate sales, focusing on a woman named Kara who administers them, but also discussing the people and the emotions involved. I’ve quoted a few snippets, but it is worth a read if you have a moment.

All The Things We Leave Behind: On the Melancholy and Beauty of Estate Sales [Farahn Morgan – Real Clear Books & Culture – 5/23/2023]

Estate Sales - All the Things We Leave Behind.JPG

On the first true day of the sale, the house on Virginia Avenue is transformed. The front porch is host to some of the sale’s larger items. The formal dining room is a love letter to nostalgia, practically bursting with baseball cards, Michael Jordan pennants, and at least one Jose Canseco wood carving. The coffee cups are out from their cupboards. And concrete Buddha and Jesus are ready to find homes in new hearts.
The place is teeming with people, many at retirement age, and it’s mostly respectful. (That’s not always the case at these sales. It can give you a jolt to see people grabbing and trampling with the face of eternity so nearby.)
Many of the patrons here have made estate selling a kind of regular social outing. These houses are gathering places for them, and they feel at home here.
A few of the women here say they are friends of the family, and they say that having something from this place as a memento is a kind of last tribute. “I try to show people,” Kara says, “I try to represent them the way they were at their best.”
“We are all fighting time. I try not to think too much about it, because we can’t avoid it, and if you focus too much on it, it can hold your heart hostage.” Kara takes my hand in hers and squeezes it. “It really is what you leave behind.”

L.P. Hartley wrote that “The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” Estate sales provide a way to travel to that foreign country, and experience both the greater culture of decades past as well as the micro-culture of those who once occupied a specific home.

Blessings to those departed ambassadors from the past, for sharing their culture and unique biographies at estate sales, and for the legacy they leave through their old possessions that find new homes.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 12:00 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Oneith

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 12:00 PM (MOY79)

2 Twoith

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:01 PM (zbP2D)

3 Read the content

Posted by: Thanatopsis at August 13, 2023 12:02 PM (sNtYB)

4 I wanna' know what's in Hunter's back pack.

Posted by: BignJames at August 13, 2023 12:02 PM (AwYPR)

5 Huh. I just got back from a church I specifically joined because it's a culture of love and celebration of God's love for all of us.

They are also pretty conservative in their outlook, recognizing on a deep level that we humans are in a terrible spiritual war going on right now.

Definitely a good bunch of folks.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 13, 2023 12:05 PM (BpYfr)

6 What if your house contains almost nothing except books, tools, and guns?

(Asking for a friend)

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:05 PM (43xH1)

7 4 largest US grid operators warn EPA rules could cause significant power shortages.

Posted by: It's happening at August 13, 2023 12:06 PM (pHPwR)

8 My house is FULL of books, cats, and quite a few DVDs... And some furniture along with fantasy/science-fiction themed art.

It's also not as tidy as it could be, but not a complete disaster.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 13, 2023 12:07 PM (BpYfr)

9 I do enjoy resale shops, antiques stores, estate sales, but tend to avoid going to homes where sales are occurring, because the people who are gone, seem to still be there, to some extent.

And the resale shops that have lots of ordinary items... I don't know, I'm not judging, but feel some degree of sadness at the people picking through clothes and basic household items.

I usually go to these places, looking for something specific, and generally don't find it. And seldom find something I wasn't looking for that I want. But still, I do it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:07 PM (G3QnF)

10 4 largest US grid operators warn EPA rules could cause significant power shortages.

Posted by: It's happening at August 13, 2023 12:06 PM (pHPwR)

That's the plan.

Posted by: BignJames at August 13, 2023 12:08 PM (AwYPR)

11 There are no pocket in burial suits.

Never seen a uhaul behind a hearse.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 13, 2023 12:08 PM (BRHaw)

12 What a beautiful write-up.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at August 13, 2023 12:09 PM (45fpk)

13 My house is FULL of books, cats, and quite a few DVDs... And some furniture along with fantasy/science-fiction themed art.

It's also not as tidy as it could be, but not a complete disaster.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 13, 2023 12:07 PM (BpYfr)

Being in a rental for the time being, lots of things here still in boxes. When I move, I hope to pare down the junk even more than I already have. Still, if I die tomorrow (or hell, why wait, why not today), I'd like to think there are "treasures" some would enjoy.

Just don't expect the furniture to not have cat scratches on it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:10 PM (G3QnF)

14 Selling off my MIL's household estate made me incredibly sad to see things go, and incredibly happy to be rid of them.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at August 13, 2023 12:11 PM (45fpk)

15 Our house is an odd place. It is mostly made up of not-quite complete projects, such a book shelves, bathrooms, trim, and now our kitchen, which we will actually finish.

But it also feels comfortable, and lived in, which we have done for over 20 years.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 12:11 PM (T/Lqj)

16 4 largest US grid operators warn EPA rules could cause significant power shortages.

Posted by: It's happening at August 13, 2023 12:06 PM (pHPwR)

---
Those grid operators should conspire to turn off the power of just the EPA...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 13, 2023 12:12 PM (BpYfr)

17 Never seen a uhaul behind a hearse.
Posted by: rhennigantx'

I have! A guy in one of my former cities of residence bought an old hearse to haul his band stuff around, and routinely pulled a small uhaul trailer with it!

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:12 PM (43xH1)

18 I have a collection of over 500 elephant figurines /sculptures from my mom. One day I will put them on line for sale. Procrastination is my middle name when it comes to some things.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:12 PM (MNhXM)

19 My husband is a recovering hoarder. I hope I go before him. I don't want to deal with all his crap.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at August 13, 2023 12:14 PM (45fpk)

20 Maybe simulator, my parents are downsizing to a retirement community, so far just starting to take some stuff ( tools mostly). But they don't have to take a whole lot of furniture so no idea where it's all going to go.
I certainly don't need it

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 12:14 PM (MOY79)

21 I gave away about 90% of my mother’s possessions. What I didn’t give away I donated to different resale charities. The other 10% is packed to the ceiling in my garage.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:14 PM (MNhXM)

22 I have a collection of over 500 elephant figurines /sculptures from my mom. One day I will put them on line for sale. Procrastination is my middle name when it comes to some things.
Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:12 PM (MNhXM)

Cats and "figurines" don't tend to go well together.

I do have some nice looking urns on a shelf though. Cats don't touch them, they're not easy to get to, I suppose. I'd like to think they leave them alone out of respect for their brother and sisters though.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:15 PM (G3QnF)

23 Thanks, Buck.

Posted by: KT at August 13, 2023 12:15 PM (rrtZS)

24 My house stymies people as when The Ex took off, I removed all the furniture and disposed of it. I decided I liked the completely empty living room, the largest room in the house, and have kept it totally empty, nothing in it at all, just an empty space.
The rare times people come over, they kind of freak out: Where's the furniture? they ask. There isn't any, I reply, but look at all this awesome space!

My sister hates it.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:15 PM (43xH1)

25 Never seen a uhaul behind a hearse.
Posted by: rhennigantx'

I have! A guy in one of my former cities of residence bought an old hearse to haul his band stuff around, and routinely pulled a small uhaul trailer with it!

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:12 PM (43xH1)
---
Knew a guy in college that drove his own hearse as a personal vehicle. He just wanted one for some reason.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 13, 2023 12:16 PM (BpYfr)

26 Well written Buck!

Posted by: Diogenes at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (hv9bm)

27 Cats don't touch them, they're not easy to get to, I suppose. I'd like to think they leave them alone out of respect for their brother and sisters though.
Posted by: BurtTC

'Cats... out of respect for...'

I think I see a problem here.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (43xH1)

28 This is so close to heart I've read it twice and want to re-read certain lines again and again. Thank you, Buck.

>And for some, this is where they started to die.

My mom purchased her first and only little house at the age of 66. She's now 91 and still living alone in that little house on the corner lot in the tiny town.
All of us, including her, have been preparing for the giving away / selling off of belongings and we are thankful we've been given the time to do it together.

Posted by: old chick at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (sOete)

29 One of the things I enjoy about American culture, what's left of it anyway, is residential interior design. Not the sterile ostentation so common in the upper classes, and certainly not the graffiti and filth in the homes of our squalid urban vote plantations.

But the homes of the broad mass of Americans from the poorer end of the working classes to the more affluent end of the middle class. It tends to exhibit what I call "opulent austerity." I know that seems like a contradiction but it isn't. A side effect of a culture where people have access to uncommon wealth, but generally work their fingers to the bone for what they have.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (0FoWg)

30 BTW, great essay, Mr. Buck.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 12:18 PM (T/Lqj)

31 I wish that I was unfamiliar with the whole process, but I'm not. If one has close family, that may make it more orderly, but if not...one of the estate auctions will dispose of things, but coldly, and with no regard for the objects at all.

In the end, I suppose that doesn't matter, but it is sad to witness.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 12:22 PM (Ysyum)

32 Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (0FoWg)

That’s why most people hate to move. So many personal possessions that need to be moved with them,

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:22 PM (MNhXM)

33 One of those tasks I've not been able to tackle, is how to assemble and specify meaningful digital content. Like most people, I have files, and I have photos.

They're scattered in different folders, on different hard drives. Sometimes I'll be looking for photos from a certain time period, or from a specific phone, and I can't find them. I know they're here somewhere. Or when I'm looking for specific documents, my folders are so poorly labeled, I don't remember which one is which. When I go to organize, I give up, due to the size of the task.

I really don't want to leave it for someone else to do, after I'm gone. Which... hopefully won't be today or tomorrow.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:22 PM (jWidL)

34
Her Majesty is slowly disposing of her enormous collection of Borzoi items, such as plaques, cups, glasses, statuary, magazines and documentation. These get donated to raffles or as prizes at specialty shows. It's like passing them on to the next generation.

Even so, there is still quite a bit of art work adorning the house, like the huge charcoal portrait of Sarge (Ch. Soyara's Ace of Spades) and the remarkable life-size bronze bust of our great matriarch Possum.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 13, 2023 12:23 PM (MoZTd)

35 We have quite a lot of "stuff" from our respective families. My wife has some antiques, as do I, and we inherited a bunch of lead-glass crystal, some sterling silver and a few pieces of real art. None of the kids would be interesting in any of this. So... an estate sale while still alive looks like what we'll be doing in the not-too-distant future.

The other stuff; household goods of every imaginable kind will likely end up either at the dump or Goodwill.

Only the (purported) guns would be of any interest to my son... and then only some of them.

But in the final analysis we'll be dead so none of that matters.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 13, 2023 12:23 PM (Q4IgG)

36 As for 'stuff', the vast majority of belongings in my house are tools and materials to keep the house in working order. When you do all your own work, you best have the tools to do it, so the entire basement is one big workshop lined with racks of supplies and tools.
I'm of the opinion all that absolutely stays with the house, like the tool kit some cars used to come with.
Ladders, roof brackets, caulk guns, saws, nailers, pipe wrenches: all that belongs to the house. I've already done a will that leaves the house and everything in it to The Kid and she's announced her intention to never sell it, so maybe, maybe not.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:24 PM (43xH1)

37 My MIL had eleven giant Rubbermaid bins full of Beanie Babies in her estate sale.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at August 13, 2023 12:24 PM (45fpk)

38 They're scattered in different folders, on different hard drives. Sometimes I'll be looking for photos from a certain time period, or from a specific phone, and I can't find them. I know they're here somewhere. Or when I'm looking for specific documents, my folders are so poorly labeled, I don't remember which one is which. When I go to organize, I give up, due to the size of the task.'

Urgghhh, I've tried/done that, and it's horrible. Digital records are insanely hard to organize.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:25 PM (43xH1)

39 My MIL had eleven giant Rubbermaid bins full of Beanie Babies in her estate sale.
Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here'

Yeouch.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:26 PM (43xH1)

40
largest US grid operators warn EPA rules could cause significant power shortages.
Posted by: It's happening

Go to an estate sale. Buy a farm with a windmill.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2023 12:26 PM (63Dwl)

41 'Cats... out of respect for...'

I think I see a problem here.
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (43xH1)

When we had my boy put to sleep... best cat ever, we had it done in my home. As the deed was being completed, the doc motioned for me to look at the other cats, they were positioned around us, with their backs to us. She said they were guarding him.

I don't know if that was true or not, but it sure does seem they know things us humans miss sometimes.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:27 PM (jWidL)

42 And the future is "the undiscovered country."

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at August 13, 2023 12:28 PM (jgJfd)

43 I don’t have any family so currently I have a group of friends as the executors of my estate. In the near future I’ll have to adjust my will because most of those friends are my same age or just five or six years younger.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:28 PM (MNhXM)

44
Knew a guy in college that drove his own hearse as a personal vehicle. He just wanted one for some reason.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

They were semi popular back in the 1960's.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2023 12:29 PM (63Dwl)

45 My MIL had eleven giant Rubbermaid bins full of Beanie Babies in her estate sale.
Posted by: grammie winger

I'm sorry.
Those were such a scam.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:29 PM (zbP2D)

46 My MIL had eleven giant Rubbermaid bins full of Beanie Babies in her estate sale.
Posted by: grammie winger
-----

One of the best friends I've ever had, when he passed away, had 4,000 Edison cylinders. These would typically sell for $8.00 to $10.00 each, perhaps, more, perhaps less. His estate single-handedly saturated the market, and prices dropped to about $2.00 when his estate was auctioned.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 12:29 PM (Ysyum)

47 When one of my Uncle's passed recently his only child was adviced, since there was no financial need, to wait a year before liquidated everything. Uncle had a private airstrip, a couple of airplanes (including a Beaver), and a full shop as he was an A&P mechanic as his hobby. The house was from Grandmother and full of the usual bric-a-brac.
She was thinking of his hobby and held the airfield, etc. and liquaidated the house.
Then woke up two years later and realized she focused on her Dad's hobbies and held onto all that stuff which was easily replced and ditched all the bric-a-brac and had literally nothing really personnel left from her father and grandmother.

She was my grandmother too - a couple of trinkets from Japan junket in the '70s, and a very nice baby craddle she made after retirement.
Actually, my cousin has a craddle too. So not totally w/o heirlooms. But I think that is it. She had like five kids.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at August 13, 2023 12:30 PM (ga8qR)

48 I love the way Lady YD and I have furnished and decorated our new home. We're surrounded by beautiful, well made things, but not too many of them. There is no question when people walk in, that we are not poor. There is also no question that we are not rich, either. Nobody but the very poorest or wealthiest will feel out of place here.

There is also a broad array of things both from her black culture and my Russian-Jewish one. It feels very, very American here. It's a wonderful home.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 13, 2023 12:31 PM (0FoWg)

49 29 I've been in a few houses in my home town in Ohio, now chopped up into apartments. These were owned by local mill and railroad barons, and even chopped up they show Victorian or Gilded Age design. Always begs the question, even with hired help, how did they keep those places clean? 10' ceilings, draperies hanging everywhere, all sorts of junk adorning other junk. All that stuff is gone but even then, with all the trim and molding, a pain in the ass to keep up.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:31 PM (0EOe9)

50 bill in arkansas - One word: Servants

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 12:32 PM (Ysyum)

51 Great post, Buck. When my Ma passed, the stuff left behind was overwhelming for me and my Sis. I remember the day we tried to take stock of what was ahead of us. We just stood there in her place, looked around and wondered how we'd ever manage it. In the end, we were unbelievably fortunate to get a referral to a guy who did these estate sales. The dude and his crew took care of everything. At the end of the sale, there were only a handful of things left in the house. It was a sad day but at the same time a huge relief. Thank you Bill K., wherever you are.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at August 13, 2023 12:32 PM (Xrfse)

52 I did get into watching Storage Wars for a brief time until it became too obvious a set up. It was interesting though to see what people did abandon in these storage units.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:33 PM (MNhXM)

53 Much of our stuff is nostalgia-based, but we do have a few things that are worth some money. My gubs, my Dad's piano, and two guitars, a 1978 Gibson SG, and a 1988 BC Rich Gunslinger. I also have a few LPs that might be collector-level.

Much of the rest is just stuff.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 12:33 PM (T/Lqj)

54 But the homes of the broad mass of Americans from the poorer end of the working classes to the more affluent end of the middle class. It tends to exhibit what I call "opulent austerity." I know that seems like a contradiction but it isn't. A side effect of a culture where people have access to uncommon wealth, but generally work their fingers to the bone for what they have.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 13, 2023 12:17 PM (0FoWg)

I've done a lot of home visits during my career. Not anymore, but when I did it was remarkable how much you could get to know about people from their surroundings. As Buck notes, not just the ordered homes, but the cluttered ones too.

And now when people come into my office, at my workplace, they're struck by how bare it is. I tend to shrug it off, but really, I don't bring my personal life in here, it's none of your damn business.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:33 PM (kv9V2)

55 how did they keep those places clean? 10' ceilings, draperies hanging everywhere, all sorts of junk adorning other junk. All that stuff is gone but even then, with all the trim and molding, a pain in the ass to keep up.
Posted by: bill in arkansas

I think they just slapped another coat of paint over all of it.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:33 PM (zbP2D)

56 NOOD FOR SALE
Posted by: Skip

I bid a nickle !

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 12:36 PM (T4tVD)

57 I have a co-worker that does eatate sales. Sometimes he comes across really cool shit. Sometimes he cleans up a lot of shit.
Some of the gun collections I've seen him do are just crazy.

Had my hands on 3 Mac 10/11s at one point but not the money nor the desire for the hassle to own them.

Posted by: Reforger at August 13, 2023 12:36 PM (B705c)

58 50 Mike, my Mom and Dad's house, in a neighborhood that was good but never ritzy, had a kitchen with the cabinets to the ceiling and a pantry. In the pantry there was a narrow stair well going to the sort of finished attic. Maybe some mid level mill or railroad guy had a servant.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:37 PM (0EOe9)

59 When I was a slum lord I used to visit a tenant here or a tenant there and I could tell right away how soon I would be evicting their ass by how they kept house.

Either the place unnaturally unkept or unnaturally empty and bare, kinda like the deadbeats theyselves.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 13, 2023 12:38 PM (R/m4+)

60 But in the final analysis we'll be dead so none of that matters.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 13, 2023 12:23 PM (Q4IgG)

Lots of movie/teevee plots revolve around family discovering the deep dark secrets of the dearly departed, after they're gone.

The Nazi uniform, or the love letters to someone NOT their spouse.... that sort of thing.

I always thought someone could probably make a good living, setting up a service to come into the home, BEFORE the family gets hold of things, and getting rid of the "evidence," so there are fewer of those embarrassing revelations after the fact.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:39 PM (7QA+2)

61 I don't know if that was true or not, but it sure does seem they know things us humans miss sometimes.
Posted by: BurtTC'

If either of the two cats I now house and feed kicks the bucket, the only thing the remaining one is going to think is, "Thank God that bitch is gone!"

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:39 PM (43xH1)

62 In the pantry there was a narrow stair well going to the sort of finished attic. Maybe some mid level mill or railroad guy had a servant.
Posted by: bill in arkansas

Spent the night in a farmhouse in Illinois which had been build near the beginning of the 1900s.
There was a small stairway from the master bedroom to the female servants quarters upstairs. Not a lot of fraternization allowed to the hired help.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:40 PM (zbP2D)

63 I have a lot of silver items/gifts from my parent’s 25th anniversary celebration. I should sell it for just it’s bulk value but I think I would feel guilty about it.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 12:41 PM (MNhXM)

64 My friend's Dad has a gun collection that is likely worth a million bucks. All of them are classic rifles and revolvers, no semi-automatic anything. Many were made in the 19th century, or early 20th. All of them in working order, although he does not shoot some of the oldest ones.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 12:41 PM (T/Lqj)

65 60 Kind of like packing up belongings of a casualty in the military. I participated in that one time with the adjutant, chaplain, and me as a witness. Nothing bad to speak of, but it was kind of spooky.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:42 PM (0EOe9)

66 My mom's father was a professor of politics science, an author, advisor to governments both here and abroad and one of the nicest people to ever walk this planet. He was also a collector.

When he died we spent a number of days going through his stuff to figure out what to do with it. I picked up one of his old Life magazines and started looking through it. And in the middle of a random magazine I found an original letter from Alexander Hamilton from when he was the first Secretary of the Treasury.

To quote a famous American hero, life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 13, 2023 12:42 PM (ZLI7S)

67 I'm sorry.
Those were such a scam.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:29 PM (zbP2D)

*Looks at my shelf with boxes of baseball cards*

Yeah, they're just made of cloth and beans. No intrinsic value. Who would collect THOSE things!

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:43 PM (7QA+2)

68 getting rid of the "evidence," so there are fewer of those embarrassing revelations after the fact.
Posted by: BurtTC

Sometimes the evidence is bit more difficult to hide... DNA for instance: https://is.gd/sHLeNd (milkman fathers over 800 children).

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:43 PM (zbP2D)

69
Knew a guy in college that drove his own hearse as a personal vehicle. He just wanted one for some reason.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

They were semi popular back in the 1960's.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 13, 2023 12:29 PM (63Dwl

Herman Munster has entered the chat.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 13, 2023 12:43 PM (IF2IV)

70 I have a whole cabinet of 'folk art': paintings, small sculptures, ink drawings, original comic strip art, from The Balkans and Mexico.
Unique stuff, but so obscure it's likely not worth much. I certainly didn't pay much for any of it!

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:47 PM (43xH1)

71 69 "It makes all the other woodies look inferior
And everybody likes its red velvet interior"

Lyrics that I can remember to "Surfing Hearse", maybe by Jan and Dean

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:47 PM (0EOe9)

72 Surprised that I am the first to say, "You can't take it with you."

Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:48 PM (LodBx)

73 This statement: "A house will also generally reveal if the family lives with Jesus as part of their lives, or if they just visit Jesus at church on Sundays."

Reminded me of this quote by A.W. Tozer: "And what kind of habitation pleases God? What must our natures be like before he can feel at home within us? He asks nothing but a pure heart and a single mind. He asks no rich paneling, no rugs from the Orient, no art treasures from afar. He desires but sincerity, transparency, humility, and love. He will see to the rest."

Posted by: Coki at August 13, 2023 12:49 PM (20dZh)

74 Surprised that I am the first to say, "You can't take it with you."
Posted by: m'

Too obvious, like yelling 'FREE BIRD!' at a concert.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:49 PM (43xH1)

75 Nice one, Buck.

Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:50 PM (LodBx)

76 Barack, get your loose ass back over here and wash my car!

Posted by: Michael Robinson at August 13, 2023 12:51 PM (KVGVf)

77 Surprised that I am the first to say, "You can't take it with you."
Posted by: m'

Too obvious, like yelling 'FREE BIRD!' at a concert.
Posted by: LenNeal

The musicians should keep a box of dead birds on hand and throw them in the audience.

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 12:51 PM (T4tVD)

78 Sometimes the evidence is bit more difficult to hide... DNA for instance: https://is.gd/sHLeNd (milkman fathers over 800 children).
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at August 13, 2023 12:43 PM (zbP2D)

Heh, well sure. I mentioned a couple weeks ago, those who have looked into it say it's very unlikely Thomas Jefferson actually fathered any of Sally Hemming's children.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:53 PM (xIw2M)

79 77 Falcons that have been starved for a couple of days.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:53 PM (0EOe9)

80 Too much context omitted for me to understand what's meant here by the "It" in "It really is what you leave behind.":

“We are all fighting time. I try not to think too much about it, because we can’t avoid it, and if you focus too much on it, it can hold your heart hostage.” Kara takes my hand in hers and squeezes it. “It really is what you leave behind.”

Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:53 PM (LodBx)

81 I love going to estate sales, often just to look at the house and furnishings. One of my favorites was just a couple blocks from me, an unassuming (but very attractive) 40's era bungalow house. One the culture of a house - you could tell there were of the group that became enamored with the South Pacific after WW2, and their house felt like an old style Trader Vic's. All of this wonderful Heywood-Wakefield bamboo and rattan furniture from the 50's, and originals (like these were) have gotten very rare and expensive. But it wasn't just the furniture, it was the decorations, and the style, and it made me wish I had gotten to know the people there and not just gotten a glimpse of them as they departed.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 13, 2023 12:53 PM (S6gqv)

82 You all know that's what 30 yd dumpsters are for?

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 12:54 PM (MOY79)

83 But when your father tells you, "Cherish the cabin," don't store there your letters documenting your love affair with John Cheever.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:54 PM (xIw2M)

84 rhennigantx had a more poetic way to say, "You can't take it with you.":

11 There are no pocket in burial suits.

Never seen a uhaul behind a hearse.
Posted by: rhennigantx at August 13, 2023 12:08 PM (BRHaw)

Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:55 PM (LodBx)

85 Falcons that have been starved for a couple of days.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:53 PM (0EOe9)

That's what they get for leaving Atlanta.

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 12:55 PM (T4tVD)

86 You all know that's what 30 yd dumpsters are for?
Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 12:54 PM (MOY79)

I've rented them... twice. It's VERY therapeutic filling them with the junk that won't be making the trip to the new home.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:55 PM (xIw2M)

87 Actually I hare to see things wasted that are still useful, problem is finding who needs the item

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 12:56 PM (MOY79)

88 Well, not 30 yard dumpsters. Maybe 30 feet?

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:56 PM (xIw2M)

89 The house next door to me, when the elderly couple died, the heirs got into a huge brawl over it that dragged on for over 2 years, then two of the daughters, both retired, apparently single, spent, no lie, THREE YEARS going through that house looking for absolutely anything at all of value. They shook out every book on the off chance it might have a dollar bill in it. Then when they were done, instead of selling it to the grandson who wanted it, they sold it for cheap to some 'investor' who promptly moved in utter trash rentals.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:56 PM (43xH1)

90 Tom Servo, were you the person who recommended Ambrose Bierce's "The Damned Thing" earlier this week? Thanks (to whoever did); it's great.

Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:56 PM (LodBx)

91 But when your father tells you, "Cherish the cabin," don't store there your letters documenting your love affair with John Cheever.
Posted by: BurtTC'

HAHAHA! I was waiting for someone else to post that

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:57 PM (43xH1)

92 62 You mention a farm house with quarters for the help. Like the so called impoverished of today with HD TV and wifi, the folks of yesteryear could sometimes afford "help". Grandma and Grandpa, in the depths of the depression, Grandpa lucky to get 20 hours in a week, had a lady coming in to help with the kids and company house.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 12:58 PM (0EOe9)

93 Although of course you can't take it with you, what we leave behind is an echo, an imprint, of who and what we were. Is that important? Significant, certainly, because even those who didn't know us can feel it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 13, 2023 12:58 PM (S6gqv)

94 90 Tom Servo, were you the person who recommended Ambrose Bierce's "The Damned Thing" earlier this week? Thanks (to whoever did); it's great.
Posted by: m at August 13, 2023 12:56 PM (LodBx)

yes I did, that story was a long way ahead of its time.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 13, 2023 12:58 PM (S6gqv)

95 Actually I hare to see things wasted that are still useful, problem is finding who needs the item
Posted by: Skip

Put them on Craigslist ?

Have a yard sale ?

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 12:59 PM (T4tVD)

96 But when your father tells you, "Cherish the cabin," don't store there your letters documenting your love affair with John Cheever.
Posted by: BurtTC'

HAHAHA! I was waiting for someone else to post that
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 12:57 PM (43xH1)

I chuckled as well.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 12:59 PM (T/Lqj)

97 Too obvious, like yelling 'FREE BIRD!' at a concert.
Posted by: LenNeal
The musicians should keep a box of dead birds on hand and throw them in the audience.
Posted by: JT'

I admit I've done it, once. But it was at a storefront 'theater' in Blue City for a 'performance artist' that some chick I wanted to bone dragged me to. The 'artist' asked for requests from the audience and I simply couldn't resist. Nobody was amused but it was different than yelling it at, say, a Primus concert. And actually, the dead bird bit is hilarious and I would have found it clever and funny.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:01 PM (43xH1)

98 This is the post that REDACTED was born to comment on.

Where is he?

Posted by: Darrell Harris at August 13, 2023 01:01 PM (yOFKS)

99 This is the post that REDACTED was born to comment on.

Where is he?
Posted by: Darrell Harris at August 13, 2023 01:01 PM (yOFKS)

I was thinking the same thing, actually.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Missing the Point at August 13, 2023 01:02 PM (T/Lqj)

100 I will burn everything I own and you will know me by my anonymous sovranty in society because you will know peace and good-fellowship.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 13, 2023 01:04 PM (KVGVf)

101 I’ve moved a lot during my life and always throw out a ton of stuff each move. when I kick the bucket there won’t be any estate to speak of.

Posted by: Montec at August 13, 2023 01:04 PM (h95ax)

102 95 When I was still able to work and doing my Bill the Handyman thing, I used to get pissed when somebody would start "dumpsterizing" everything. First of all, every square foot in that dumpster is money. Second, there's all kinds of ways to get rid of it if useable. Some local radio stations have a "swap shop" program where you can call in. Free to the taker gets a response. Hate those home shows on TV where the first thing they do is take a sledge to things. Habitat for Humanity ( I know, Jimmy Carter) has building supply thrift stores that will pick up the stuff.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:07 PM (0EOe9)

103 This statement: "A house will also generally reveal if the family lives with Jesus as part of their lives, or if they just visit Jesus at church on Sundays."'

Well, honestly, if someone stepped into my house and said that, their second step would be right back out the door. What would they do next, reach above the door trim and wipe their finger?

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:07 PM (43xH1)

104 I went to a thrift store a couple years ago, looking for ideas for Mom's birthday. Rooms of furniture. Paintings. But what got me was a pair of old school lamps. Flues about three our four feet high. Immaculate condition. A pair of them. All silver (looking metal) and glass.

Now this being Kentucky, it might not be that far back before certain parts of the state did not have electric lighting.

My (great) Uncle Kenny had a small set of three plates, a bowl and a couple cups. Crude stuff. HIS grandmother's daughter Sarah had died of illness just before she was about to be married. She had started gathering the things to start a household. Her mother had saved those pieces (so they did not go to waste) for a lot of years before passing them to Kenny (so they did not go to waste.) And he had kept them and had asked my Dad to find someone for them (so they did not go to waste) when HE died. A young woman, kept alive in memory by a small collection of dishes.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at August 13, 2023 01:07 PM (zZu0s)

105 My husband has decorated the house with his belongings, which is fine with me. When I add anything, it is in his style. It's interesting because it can all be organized into categories - he gets on jags getting stuff. I tell him that we should thin out what we have - that I get "itchy" over having so much in a room. It's a lot for me to dust, but it's not really that - my dad was a hoarder and I like some open space, here and there. But he won't part with anything. So I cope by going through my belongings and stuff and really thinning it out. That's the only thing I can do - that and sharing this essay.

Posted by: Coki at August 13, 2023 01:08 PM (20dZh)

106 Thank you for the lovely essay, Buck.

Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg-Manly Yes, But Ultra-Buff Too at August 13, 2023 01:08 PM (DUFFl)

107 >> I've been in a few houses in my home town in Ohio, now chopped up into apartments. These were owned by local mill and railroad barons, and even chopped up they show Victorian or Gilded Age design. Always begs the question, even with hired help, how did they keep those places clean? 10' ceilings, draperies hanging everywhere, all sorts of junk adorning other junk. All that stuff is gone but even then, with all the trim and molding, a pain in the ass to keep up.

My condominium in Boston was originally one of the townhouses built in the 1800s. It was a single home but was cut up into 10 condos. 12 foot ceilings and tons of detail including a fireplace mantle with carved woodwork and inlaid tiles.

An enormous pain in the ass to clean but a very cool place to live before Democrats became communists.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 13, 2023 01:10 PM (ZLI7S)

108 Thanks, Buck, for such a stimulating and novel post! My husband and I have an interesting perspective on the "culture of a house." The previous owner of our house died suddenly. He was unmarried, unpartnered, and childless. His sister, to whom he was very close, and her husband were the executors and we bought the house from the estate.

Anyway, we offered to buy some pieces in the house that we needed and they countered offering to sell us all of the contents (nice contents!!) for an astonishingly reasonable price. They were grieving and I don't think they could deal with arranging and holding an estate sale. On the flip side, this house was larger than our old house so we needed additional furniture, etc. so we snapped up their offer.

So for the last 6.5 years we've lived in a house that still reflects much of the previous owner but also reflects our personalities. At first it felt like living in a vacation rental, but after this much time we've kind of blended harmoniously.

But the experience has made me extremely sensitive to the culture of the house as reflected in its possessions. Fascinating.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at August 13, 2023 01:11 PM (fTtFy)

109 Here's another weird thing. My aunt had all this stuff, moved it around with her for years. After we found out she was gone, I decided to look up the house on Zillow. Yes, it was for sale, carefully staged with some of her stuff. Don't know what will happen to it all. She and her daughter were estranged so I don't know if she wants any of it. It really drives home how pointless all your stuff is.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:11 PM (ouTlx)

110 An enormous pain in the ass to clean but a very cool place to live before Democrats became communists.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 13, 2023 01:10 PM (ZLI7S)

So... a little over a hundred years ago? Before that they were just racists, slaveholders and eugenicists.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at August 13, 2023 01:11 PM (zZu0s)

111 My father-in-law, as a teenager, was in the German army during the Second World War. After his unit broke up and scattered, he hid in the attic of an abandoned farm house. It was here that he was captured by the Americans. Decades later, he revisited the home. Told the current owner his story, and that before entering the house he buried his handgun in the yard. They went to the spot and dug, there was his pistol.

Posted by: French Jeton at August 13, 2023 01:12 PM (NXBpJ)

112 It really drives home how pointless all your stuff is.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:11 PM (ouTlx)

Pointless? I take your meaning, but I dunno. Maybe the physical ownership. But for someone with the eyes to see, it shows the story of your life. That shouldn't be pointless.

Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop at August 13, 2023 01:13 PM (zZu0s)

113 >>>Posted by: Aetius451AD Work Laptop

>Dammit man! I'm hearing banjos and lighting my corncob pipe as I type this!

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 13, 2023 01:14 PM (KVGVf)

114 Wife and I have lived in the same house since 1974, two years after we were married. With a basement filled with stuff, old late 40's and 50's TV's, radios (I love to restore electronic equipment....the eternal tinkerer) and a huge train layout down there as well, our son will have his work cut out for him one day. But, in the meantime, it all brings me enjoyment. Many hobbies.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:14 PM (Zvtjl)

115 Buck, your columns are always good ... but this one has to be placed in the 'Special' folder. It's excellent.

Posted by: Dr_No at August 13, 2023 01:14 PM (mu5GU)

116 I used to get pissed when somebody would start "dumpsterizing" everything. First of all, every square foot in that dumpster is money. Second, there's all kinds of ways to get rid of it if useable.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:07 PM (0EOe9)

Which is the key point. If what I'm not moving with me is usable, I make sure someone gets it. Either someone I know, or a resale shop.

But what about rusted pans and mattresses that are being replaced? Or furniture my cats have used as scratching posts? Nobody wants that, not the resale shops, and I doubt there are too many pickers who would go to the trouble of trying to get 40 cents worth of metal springs out of things.

You want to come and look through the dumpster, before it gets hauled off? Be my guest. I've also put the larger metal items out, like bed frames, old lawnmowers, washing machines. If someone wants to come by, it's by the side of the dumpster, they can pick it up, or it goes in on the last day.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:14 PM (jWidL)

117 Told the current owner his story, and that before entering the house he buried his handgun in the yard. They went to the spot and dug, there was his pistol.
Posted by: French Jeton'

Well, what kind of pistol was it? We're waiting

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:16 PM (43xH1)

118 Heh, well sure. I mentioned a couple weeks ago, those who have looked into it say it's very unlikely Thomas Jefferson actually fathered any of Sally Hemming's children.
Posted by: BurtTC
------

Yes. I have read the DNA study. But, dammit, don't interfere with the popular narrative!

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:17 PM (3bqKz)

119 Nobody wants that, not the resale shops, and I doubt there are too many pickers who would go to the trouble of trying to get 40 cents worth of metal springs out of things.'

My immediate neighborhood has at least 5 guys with rusty old pickups who will pick up literally anything for scrap value. If I want to off anything metal I put it on my boulevard. It's always gone in minutes. Hour, tops.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:18 PM (43xH1)

120 Panhandle of FL white trash families race each other to raid the final dead parent's house.

Posted by: pawn at August 13, 2023 01:18 PM (wsHtO)

121 116 Yes, Burt, sort through the useful stuff. Save room in the dumpster for the junk. Somebody can use it, saves room in the dumpster, and capacity is money.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:19 PM (0EOe9)

122 Yet wish I had toys I did throw out when I was a kid

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 01:21 PM (MOY79)

123 I believe that every house in our neighborhood that was built during the 30's has a servant's quarters over the garage.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:21 PM (3bqKz)

124 Wife and I have lived in the same house since 1974, two years after we were married. With a basement filled with stuff, old late 40's and 50's TV's, radios (I love to restore electronic equipment....the eternal tinkerer) and a huge train layout down there as well, our son will have his work cut out for him one day. But, in the meantime, it all brings me enjoyment. Many hobbies.
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:14 PM (Zvtjl)

Sounds nice, but of course NOBODY wants old teevees anymore. You can't give them away. Best you can do is pay someone to take them away.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:22 PM (R2hsw)

125 If I had my choice of my aunt's stuff, I would take the landscape paintings she brought back from Germany.

What I worry about is odd. She had this full set of ive tea glasses and pitcher that were a giveaway at one of the gas stations. Tall frosted glasses, painted with various Indians chiefs and the pitcher to go with it. Always liked that set. And I'd like the family photos but there's no one to leave that stuff to.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:24 PM (ouTlx)

126 Thank you for a beautiful essay, Buck! I'm here in central Florida, there are a lot of yard sales and estate sales here, I've had similar feelings looking though those old belongings...

Posted by: Jewish Odysseus at August 13, 2023 01:25 PM (Dklat)

127 My immediate neighborhood has at least 5 guys with rusty old pickups who will pick up literally anything for scrap value. If I want to off anything metal I put it on my boulevard. It's always gone in minutes. Hour, tops.
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:18 PM (43xH1)

Yep. Usually skinny guys too, and when I offer to help them load it onto the truck, they say nah, they got it. I'm often amazed they do.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:25 PM (R2hsw)

128 Heh, well sure. I mentioned a couple weeks ago, those who have looked into it say it's very unlikely Thomas Jefferson actually fathered any of Sally Hemming's children.

-

Sure, but stories about freeing slaves and giving them property and teaching them to be seamstresses and farriers isn't history.

Posted by: Have you figured out that the gay flag is a p3d0 flag? at August 13, 2023 01:25 PM (e0y0z)

129 Yet wish I had toys I did throw out when I was a kid
Posted by: Skip
-----

Mixed emotions. What to do with such as my 'O' gauge Lionel stuff, Gilbert Chemistry set, etc.? I have not the patience to Ebay the stuff. Should be sold, but that requires engagement that I'm not (at this point) willing to undertake.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:25 PM (3bqKz)

130 Sounds nice, but of course NOBODY wants old teevees anymore. You can't give them away. Best you can do is pay someone to take them away.
Posted by: BurtTC'

I think my county charges USD$10, EACH! to take them. They are impossible to get rid of legally and inexpensively. If someone left me a pile of old TVs in a will or estate I'd assume they just didn't like me and wanted me to suffer.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:26 PM (43xH1)

131 Yes. I have read the DNA study. But, dammit, don't interfere with the popular narrative!
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:17 PM (3bqKz)

Yep, more prestigious to say you're descended from Thomas J., rather than one of his ne'er do well nephews.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:26 PM (R2hsw)

132 When my elderly neighbor passed away a couple years ago his step-son was named as executor of his estate. His first inclination was to sell off everything he didn't want, including the house and the furnishings. He mentioned doing an on-line auction where people bid on items and pre-pay if they win. This would avoid the haggling in person. It sounded pretty good, but the outfit that runs it would talk a pretty big cut.

Ultimately he decided to keep the house after much dicking around by the other siblings. There's always one or two who think the house is worth $100K than it really is and want their cut... in cash... up front.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 13, 2023 01:26 PM (Q4IgG)

133 My husband has acquired most everything we have from yard sales, estate sales, and auctions. He has a very good eye for design and value. And he's disciplined -- he sets a price and doesn't go beyond, no matter how dear the piece. But he does buy too much, on the whole.

Still, I enjoy joining him and looking at the objects and taking it all in, without spending a dollar. I have so many stories from these trips.

One in particular: An overwhelmed, grieving son doing his father's estate sale all on his own. I had noticed on the kitchen table a book on valuing antiques, that the book hadn't been cracked, and it had a receipt dated the prior day. Visitors, without speaking a word to one another, picked up on the man not being ready for this sale, and they started bringing him sentimental things that his dad had tucked in places (for one, my husband handed him his dad's military memorabilia). Another man told him he should seal off a room filled with collectibles, lest he be taken advantage of.

That memory still brings tears to my eyes.

Posted by: Coki at August 13, 2023 01:26 PM (20dZh)

134 121 116 Yes, Burt, sort through the useful stuff. Save room in the dumpster for the junk. Somebody can use it, saves room in the dumpster, and capacity is money.
Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:19 PM (0EOe9)

Most of the stuff I'm tossing is plastic and/or particle board crap. If someone wants that, they can have it. But I'm tossing it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:27 PM (R2hsw)

135 If I had my Airfix 1/72 army troops probably would play games with them.

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 01:28 PM (MOY79)

136 Mixed emotions. What to do with such as my 'O' gauge Lionel stuff, Gilbert Chemistry set, etc.? I have not the patience to Ebay the stuff. Should be sold, but that requires engagement that I'm not (at this point) willing to undertake.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc.'

Do you have a consignment shop anywhere around you? The next town over from me has one, you take in your shi- I mean, valued belongings, the shop and you agree on a price, and they stock it and sell it. Or, rent space or do a deal at an antique mall. Lionel O gauge is desirable; and neither of these options require your physical engagement in the selling process.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:28 PM (43xH1)

137 Sorry, that was iced tea glasses

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:29 PM (ouTlx)

138 I think my county charges USD$10, EACH! to take them. They are impossible to get rid of legally and inexpensively. If someone left me a pile of old TVs in a will or estate I'd assume they just didn't like me and wanted me to suffer.
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:26 PM (43xH1)

Heh. Exactly.

When I sold my house in St. Louis, I had an old fridge that needed disposing of. The new owners didn't want it left behind, even though it worked fine. So... I found a guy who advertised he takes them. Just leave it on the driveway.

A week later, it was still there. Then he got snippy with me when I asked when he was going to get it. Go F yourself, buddy, you said you were going to do it, and your word is worth less than that fridge.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:30 PM (R2hsw)

139 98 This is the post that REDACTED was born to comment on.

Where is he?
Posted by: Darrell Harris at August 13, 2023 01:01 PM (yOFKS)

fucking alarm clock from tag sale don't work

let me get a drink and I'll post

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:30 PM (us2H3)

140 Martini - Local on-line estate auction takes 40%. The relatives often don't care, they just want the estate settled.

See 31 and 46. Myself and others watched our friend's belongings being dispensed with as quickly as possible, because his estranged family did not care a bit. They just wanted the stuff gone.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:31 PM (3bqKz)

141 If I had my Airfix 1/72 army troops probably would play games with them.
Posted by: Skip'

Airfix rocks. I have some left, and a fort.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:31 PM (43xH1)

142 Just get rid of the porn before you go. None will be the wiser.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 13, 2023 01:32 PM (BdMk6)

143 Gotta roll with the new.

youtube.com/watch?v=d8bWGGA-5HM

Posted by: Dr. Bone at August 13, 2023 01:32 PM (KVGVf)

144 Before my wife sold the family lake-side cabin, we hauled out several car loads of stuff for donations to various organizations. At the end there was still a huge amount of junk. Asked a junk shop owner if he wanted to take a look. He stopped by, then said he would go back to town and get his truck. Took it all, even went through the trash pile pulling items out. We gave away all the stuff of value, but got a thousand dollars for the junk. Only thing left was the boat. We were at a loss as to how to dispose of that. Day before we left, the neighbor gave over and asked if he could buy the boat. Voila!

Posted by: French Jeton at August 13, 2023 01:32 PM (NXBpJ)

145 I always thought someone could probably make a good living, setting up a service to come into the home, BEFORE the family gets hold of things, and getting rid of the "evidence," so there are fewer of those embarrassing revelations after the fact.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 12:39 PM (7QA+2)

Where I worked many years ago, one of the co-workers passed away unexpectedly. We had lockers and one of his friends showed up and asked to go through his locker before his wife and family. Nothing nefarious, but he did like the ladies.

Posted by: Rufus T Firefly at August 13, 2023 01:32 PM (fheZL)

146 Sounds nice, but of course NOBODY wants old teevees anymore. You can't give them away. Best you can do is pay someone to take them away.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:22 PM (R2hsw)

Actually there is. These are post war classic sets that collectors desire, the oldest being the famous RCA 630TS set introduced in 1946, and the "newest" being an RCA CTC-9 color set from 1959. They work perfectly with an off air signal using a digital converter. No problem getting rid of those, My oldest radio is a 1942 Philco with record changer using the Beam Of Light pickup in the tone arm. I resides in our living room and I love listening to Christmas music on it on Christmas Eve, with just the lights of the tree lighting the room. A scene out of A Christmas Story. I often think about the original owners of that radio in 1942, and all the war news that they heard on it. Maybe a son, brother or husband overseas. That radio was their window to the world.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:33 PM (Zvtjl)

147 I took a couple fridges to the scrap yard and they couldn't take them because of freon. Drove off the property, and as luck would have it, I had a set of bolt cutters in the truck. Did the deed, drove back in and got beer money.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:34 PM (0EOe9)

148 I moved more than I needed because I knew they would dump most of it. I couldn't get the kids to go through any of it. There's some things that should go to my stepson.

Out here, they do auctions. I haven't attended one yet but did walk through an open house. They sell houses too

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:35 PM (ouTlx)

149 Actually there is. These are post war classic sets that collectors desire, the oldest being the famous RCA 630TS set introduced in 1946, and the "newest" being an RCA CTC-9 color set from 1959. They work perfectly with an off air signal using a digital converter. No problem getting rid of those,
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy'

THAT is some obscure market. But, say you inherit this highly desirable TV in your grandparents house in Lodgepole, Nebraska, who is going to come from some hipster funhole to come pick it up?

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:36 PM (43xH1)

150 What I can't figure out is, how the hell did I accumulate so much 'stuff'? I mean, holy crap!

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:37 PM (3bqKz)

151 buying and selling knick knacks is a hard way to go in the resale biz

you got to be able to spot the weird old thing, the thing the ordinary person would overlook.

that takes a lifetime of looking , reading and talking to pros

I don't even remember when I started going to flea markets with my grandparents, late 50's, when I was 7 or 8

I still go to tag sales around the Berkshires

I come up with the odd thing

lately, a piece of 18th century Chinese clobberware which has an erotic mark on the bottom, something I have never seen

and a crate of 3 antique Lacca Povera boxes, all of them need some attention

those are money makers

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:37 PM (us2H3)

152 Actually, 40s and 50s TVs might have a home somewhere, if they still work. I know people who use them as decoration, and some who use them for vintage computers.

I have considered getting an older TV instead of using an old LCD, because they provide a better screen for computers that were mean to use TVs. But they’re more difficult to keep running, and it would mean having two television sets on my vintage computer workbench, since I also have a Color Maximite on the bench (a modern retro BASIC) and a Linux box there.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at August 13, 2023 01:37 PM (EXyHK)

153 Was supposed to be hot and 91 according to AccuWeather, 1330hrs and 82, actually nice breeze blowing

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 01:38 PM (MOY79)

154 Did the deed, drove back in and got beer money.
Posted by: bill in arkansas'

My county dump requires a certified sticker saying it was recaptured, and if no sticker-ee no dump-ee.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:38 PM (43xH1)

155 When I die, my possessions will be scattered about a rainy athletic field then to bleach and degrade in the sun.

Like in Empire of the Sun.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at August 13, 2023 01:39 PM (kKXjJ)

156 Just get rid of the porn before you go. None will be the wiser.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 13, 2023 01:32 PM (BdMk6)

True confession time, I bought some vintage Playboy mags some years back... before the now ex came along (she wasn't happy about it, but that's not why she left).

I do enjoy reading the articles, I don't care if that sounds like a cliche. They interviewed Gary Gilmore, just before he was executed. A fascinating article about Howard Hughes, that sort of thing. The sex articles? Bleh. As for the pics... well, the ladies do look nice, but there's something quaint about the airbrushed photos. I certainly wouldn't call it porn.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:39 PM (R2hsw)

157 Just get rid of the porn before you go. None will be the wiser.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons'

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Posted by: Your search history your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:40 PM (43xH1)

158 as horrible as it sounds, in the antique biz, you try not to buy anything you can't triple on the ticket

after everything is deducted, you're lucky to see a 30-40% ROI

but f you got a good eye, a good selling venue and the ability to restore, you can do a lot better

but you got know the bottom line

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:41 PM (us2H3)

159 Husband had a story about going to a yard sale. The widow was selling off her husband's porn collection. This was old vintage stuff. He was young and passed it up. Always thought it would have sold well.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:43 PM (ouTlx)

160 154 Same here and back in PA. This was a junk yard, the kind with the price for beer cans displayed out front. County yards get fussy.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 01:43 PM (0EOe9)

161 Sounds nice, but of course NOBODY wants old teevees anymore. You can't give them away. Best you can do is pay someone to take them away.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:22 PM (R2hsw)

Actually there is. These are post war classic sets that collectors desire...
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:33 PM (Zvtjl)

Yeah, I wasn't really talking about collector's items, although that was your initial point. I'm talking about sets from the past, oh let's say, 40-50 years. Even the ones that work, I can't imagine anyone wanting them.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:43 PM (R2hsw)

162 I have considered getting an older TV instead of using an old LCD, because they provide a better screen for computers that were mean to use TVs. But they’re more difficult to keep running, and it would mean having two television sets on my vintage computer workbench, since I also have a Color Maximite on the bench (a modern retro BASIC) and a Linux box there.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair'

When I had living room furniture I hated having a gray/black box TV just sitting out. So I did find a 1950s TV cabinet, very nice, gutted it, and put a 19 inch? TV in it. I could close the doors and tadah, no TV.

Posted by: Your search history your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:43 PM (43xH1)

163 Did the deed, drove back in and got beer money.
Posted by: bill in arkansas'

My county dump requires a certified sticker saying it was recaptured, and if no sticker-ee no dump-ee.
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:38 PM (43xH1)

That's when you inadvertently and without knowing have it fall out of the transporting vehicle. Usually late at night on a side road.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 13, 2023 01:43 PM (BdMk6)

164 Was supposed to be hot and 91 according to AccuWeather, 1330hrs and 82, actually nice breeze blowing
Posted by: Skip

You're just trying to trick me into going outside.

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 01:45 PM (T4tVD)

165 I also picked up a nice size Ming bottle with a kintsugi repair at a local tag sale

again, very rare

the owners apologize for the bottle being broken and fixed

I started to tell them but I didn't

one good deed against a million bad ones aint gonna sway God

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:46 PM (us2H3)

166 THAT is some obscure market. But, say you inherit this highly desirable TV in your grandparents house in Lodgepole, Nebraska, who is going to come from some hipster funhole to come pick it up?
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:36 PM (43xH1)

Take a peek at a few antique radio and TV sites such as Antique Radios. At 76, my childhood hobby became my life long vocation, finally retiring as a television broadcast engineer. Living all my life in the NY metro area, a huge well of old consumer electronics was available. In fact, the Philco radio came from Long Island and had all the push buttons still programmed for the many NY stations that were and still ARE on the air. Collecting these older pieces of equipment is not some obscure "hobby". It's only obscure to those who have never researched it. Want an obscure hobby? Collecting glass insulators from the old telegraph poles that once ran along the railroad tracks.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:46 PM (Zvtjl)

167 When my MIL passed away Hubby and I spent a week there (she lived 2,000 miles from us) gathering pictures, asking his step-siblings what, if anything, they wanted, mailing that stuff out, and packing up some things he wanted to keep.

We then handed over the keys to the estate sale people who sold off everything, donated what did not sell, and emptied and broom swept the house out to ready for the real estate sale.

It was a great service that they did.

I cannot imagine wanting to stick around and watch my parents stuff sold off to strangers. That is why you employ a professional.

Posted by: Ann at August 13, 2023 01:46 PM (4neFu)

168 I did take the Chinese screen with me. It is one of those antiques that went down in value. Still like it although I don't have the spot for it yet.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:46 PM (ouTlx)

169 Did the deed, drove back in and got beer money.
Posted by: bill in arkansas'

My county dump requires a certified sticker saying it was recaptured, and if no sticker-ee no dump-ee.
Posted by: LenNeal

Got turned away because they 'didn't take stumps'.
Turned down side road outside dump entrance. Still on county property, around the bend, just out of site was a pile of stumps.
Ah, this is were they go. And they did.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at August 13, 2023 01:46 PM (ga8qR)

170 Great Thread Buck !

Thanks !

Posted by: JT at August 13, 2023 01:48 PM (T4tVD)

171 My grandmother had one of those Philcos, with the radio and turntable. She even had it worked on and updated at one point. Gone long ago.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 13, 2023 01:49 PM (ouTlx)

172 like I have posted before, I have tried to make instructional restoration vids

cuz I'll die soon and my knowledge will be gone

but the first thing I did was an 18th century Dutch leather screen, one of my specialties

had maybe 50-60 hrs of vid just taking the thing apart

editing aint my thing

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:50 PM (us2H3)

173 This was a junk yard, the kind with the price for beer cans displayed out front. County yards get fussy.
Posted by: bill in arkansas'

Yeah, I know the type. Around me, one yard actually did get shut down completely: some dirtbag stole almost all the bronze grave decorations for veterans from pretty much every cemetery around, and nobody 'fessed up to taking them. A couple of people took it on themselves, including cops on their own time, and over a year found out who took them and who then accepted them. There was no prosecution but they pulled all the licenses and did that yard in, administratively.

Posted by: Your search history your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:51 PM (43xH1)

174 THAT is some obscure market. But, say you inherit this highly desirable TV in your grandparents house in Lodgepole, Nebraska, who is going to come from some hipster funhole to come pick it up?
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:36 PM (43xH1)

Not the same thing, and definitely not an antique, but when I sell my car, which will be soonish, I expect there's a market for it that I'm not going to leave to a local dealer. I expect to get damn near what I paid for it 4 years ago, and I fully expect whoever buys it is going to have to come get it. I'm not bringing it to you.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:51 PM (k7350)

175 my fav place to shop is the local dump

these crazy NYC weekenders throw all kinds of great shit away, a lot of it new

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:51 PM (us2H3)

176 Collecting these older pieces of equipment is not some obscure "hobby". It's only obscure to those who have never researched it. Want an obscure hobby? Collecting glass insulators from the old telegraph poles that once ran along the railroad tracks.
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy'

Now the insulators I see a lot of in the semi-rural Upper Midwest! Your broadcast center NYC collector's circle, I know nothing of as I doubt it exists here. But I'll add your suggestion to the reading pile.

Posted by: Your search history your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:54 PM (43xH1)

177 when I was a kid, I bought a set of 4 cocktail glasses at a yard sale

they had a pair of operable dice in the bottom of each glass

I loved those things

fucking ex stole them from in the split

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:54 PM (us2H3)

178 Oops.

Posted by: LenNeal Your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:55 PM (43xH1)

179 I’m watching Flea Market Flip right now.

Posted by: polynikes at August 13, 2023 01:55 PM (MNhXM)

180 Not the same thing, and definitely not an antique, but when I sell my car, which will be soonish, I expect there's a market for it that I'm not going to leave to a local dealer. I expect to get damn near what I paid for it 4 years ago, and I fully expect whoever buys it is going to have to come get it. I'm not bringing it to you.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:51 PM (k7350)

If I sell my 57 Chevy, it will fetch much more than my '06 Mustang GT. By the way, what interests/hobbies do YOU have? Asking. For a friend/.

Oh, here's the Museum site, and second link to the "antique" RCA 630TS

http://earlytelevision.org/

https://antiqueradio.org/RCA630TSTelevision.htm

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:55 PM (Zvtjl)

181 Collecting these older pieces of equipment is not some obscure "hobby". It's only obscure to those who have never researched it. Want an obscure hobby? Collecting glass insulators from the old telegraph poles that once ran along the railroad tracks.
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy'

I've got a bunch. Clear, red, blue, sort of yellow and light green

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 13, 2023 01:57 PM (TZ75n)

182 This was a junk yard, the kind with the price for beer cans displayed out front. County yards get fussy.
Posted by: bill in arkansas'

Yeah, I know the type....
Posted by: Your search history your kids will see at August 13, 2023 01:51 PM (43xH1)

Reminds me of the Steven Avery story. If you don't know, he's serving a life sentence now, along with his mentally retarded nephew, for a murder he might or might not have committed. There's a Netflix documentary about it, and now Candice Owens and her outfit are making a new documentary, claiming they have the evidence he actually did it.

I don't think he did. I think the cops and prosecutors in that town are corrupt beyond any defense anyone can give. My only thing is, if he DID do it, their case was built on lies and falsifying evidence, including putting the victim's car in his salvage lot, and putting his blood in the car.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 01:58 PM (reDQJ)

183 Oh! I should ask: I have a small oil painting that is coated with cigarette smoke from being in a restaurant for 30 years. I've been told various ways to gently clean it, any suggestions?

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:58 PM (43xH1)

184 Ceramic insulators. That's how CoorsTech got started. We got most of our ceramic insulators for the electric biz from Germany. The old man had been a materials chemist from Germany, and sent his son back to learn that trade, too.

When the US entered WWI, no more insulators from Germany. So the Coors family spun up what would become CoorsTech, and one day tile our re-entry vehicles for space travel.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 13, 2023 02:01 PM (0FoWg)

185 Buck, what a warm, lovely tribute to our elders. Thank you.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (JvZF+)

186 If I sell my 57 Chevy, it will fetch much more than my '06 Mustang GT. By the way, what interests/hobbies do YOU have? Asking. For a friend/.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at August 13, 2023 01:55 PM (Zvtjl)

The only real collector's items I have are baseball cards.

At this point I'd say my collection is in the low five figures, but I'm not even remotely considering getting in the business of selling. I don't collect PSA rated items. That seems to be a different world from the one I travel in.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (reDQJ)

187 Oh! I should ask: I have a small oil painting that is coated with cigarette smoke from being in a restaurant for 30 years. I've been told various ways to gently clean it, any suggestions?
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:58 PM (43xH1)

Do not use any liquid petroleum products.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (BdMk6)

188 I've got a giant early 90's Sony console TV just sitting in a spare bedroom taking up space. Bit the dust in 2007 and the few repair shops left refuse to touch it. Damned thing must weigh close to 300 lbs. It's an albatross.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (Xrfse)

189 didn't Toyota start up with sewing machines ?

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (us2H3)

190 If I sell my 57 Chevy, it will fetch much more than my '06 Mustang GT. By the way, what interests/hobbies do YOU have? Asking. For a friend'

My actual personal 'hobby' is collecting examples of visual, narrative art in history and cataloging them and trying to make some sense out of them. I've never collected anything physical in any organized way.
I do research. I'm good at it. I've done it on War Crimes in The Balkans, done Holocaust research and education, I have an ongoing project on narrative, visual Art.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (43xH1)

191 First world "problems" up top.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (reDQJ)

192 1st IS UP TO BAT
NOOD

Posted by: Skip at August 13, 2023 02:03 PM (MOY79)

193 What I can't figure out is, how the hell did I accumulate so much 'stuff'? I mean, holy crap!
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 13, 2023 01:37 PM (3bqKz)

Our economy is based on people buying shot they don’t need with money they don’t have. That’s how.

Posted by: Montec at August 13, 2023 02:04 PM (h95ax)

194 I've been told various ways to gently clean it, any suggestions?
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:58 PM (43xH1)

Do not use any liquid petroleum products.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons'

I've been told using a fine cloth or even white bread and vinegar to very gently blot the nicotine off. I looked up museum archivist recommendations but thought someone here might know something else.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:04 PM (43xH1)

195 183 Len, try a little 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water on a place where it won't be obvious. Used it on some copper ceiling tile I got out of a bar, and it worked, removing the smoke stain. Probably have to be careful on canvass.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 02:04 PM (0EOe9)

196 I've got a giant early 90's Sony console TV just sitting in a spare bedroom taking up space. Bit the dust in 2007 and the few repair shops left refuse to touch it. Damned thing must weigh close to 300 lbs. It's an albatross.
Posted by: Notorious BFD at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (Xrfse)

Firewood for the burning times.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 13, 2023 02:05 PM (BdMk6)

197 We have a set of Bohemian cobalt blue crystal goblets. 3 different sizes. Total of 36 pieces. If they're what I think they are, it's a pricey set.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at August 13, 2023 02:06 PM (Q4IgG)

198 didn't Toyota start up with sewing machines ?
Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 02:02 PM (us2H3)

Not sure, but I learned recently Mazda started out as a cork making company.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 13, 2023 02:06 PM (reDQJ)

199 187 Oh! I should ask: I have a small oil painting that is coated with cigarette smoke from being in a restaurant for 30 years. I've been told various ways to gently clean it, any suggestions?
Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 01:58 PM (43xH1)

start with a pile of cotton balls and spit

then maybe a little naptha but easy does it

look at the cotton balls and see ir it's dirt or paint

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 02:08 PM (us2H3)

200 198 Nokia started as a company making traditional slippers for the Finns.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at August 13, 2023 02:08 PM (0EOe9)

201 Thanks for the painting suggestions!

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:10 PM (43xH1)

202 ever notice how a lot of Victorian furniture is really dark

that come from decade upon decade of being cleaned with ammonia

they even used ammonia to darken 16th and 17th oak furniture

called fumed oak

Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 02:11 PM (us2H3)

203 172 like I have posted before, I have tried to make instructional restoration vids

cuz I'll die soon and my knowledge will be gone

but the first thing I did was an 18th century Dutch leather screen, one of my specialties

had maybe 50-60 hrs of vid just taking the thing apart

editing aint my thing
Posted by: REDACTED at August 13, 2023 01:50 PM (us2H3)

Dropping some serious knowledge here.

Thanks!

Posted by: Darrell Harris at August 13, 2023 02:17 PM (yOFKS)

204 The oil painting is 'Yugoslavian Naive' and came off a wall where it had probably hung since the date on it: 1974. I asked the owner how much, he said 10 Euros. I whipped out the cash.
A colleague saw it and burst out, "You STOLE that painting!"

It's a very fine example of the genre and in a Serbian gallery would sell for several hundred Euros easily.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:19 PM (43xH1)

205 Oh! I had to run into the kitchen and snatch it from the owner's son, who was about to spray it with some Yugo cleaner and wipe it with a cloth!!!

'Because it was dirty'

Me: Holy fuck! what are you doing!!!

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:21 PM (43xH1)

206 Cats and breakables: I keep my breakables, such as a few pieces of Lenox ware, David's cottages, in a bookcase with glass doors. The cats will look at them through the glass occasionally, but otherwise ignore them. OTOH, small grandkids think it's a blast to open the first and second shelves.

I haven't been to an estate sale in years, but I did pick up a couple of interesting (to me and my stitching friends) items. I found a wonderful white linen tablecloth that got cut up and shared out for embroider ing on. And I found an even count chunk of wool that got turned into an SCA cloak. I like to think that the lady who owned these items would be happy to know that they found a second life that made several people happy.

Some lucky soul is going to think she died and went to heaven when my kids give away the six yards of 28 count Lugana I bought wholesale before I closed the bookstore.

Posted by: Captain Josepha Sabin -- Persian cats are nothing more than 24/7 shedding machines. at August 13, 2023 02:22 PM (B7rlW)

207 Cats and breakables: I keep my breakables, such as a few pieces of Lenox ware, David's cottages, in a bookcase with glass doors.'

I have glass front bookcases, the New Cat (as opposed to the Old Cat) sits and stares for sometimes 30 minutes and a time at The Mystical World and her doppelganger in the reflection. The New Cat is not very smart and the Old Cat hates her guts.

Posted by: LenNeal at August 13, 2023 02:25 PM (43xH1)

208 Estate sales are depressing when it's just one house after another of lame adult children with zero hobbies who lack the intelligence to understand they're clearing out things like $100k machine shops for pennies on the dollar. And I don't mean shops full of junk, I mean meticulously organized stuff with modern, high value tools and tooling.

All because the kid is a fat insurance salesman or schoolteacher who knows nothing about anything.

Posted by: somedood at August 13, 2023 02:33 PM (oL+dz)

209 I have this Sundrop’s!

Posted by: DuhHell at August 13, 2023 03:00 PM (9kpZU)

210 Beautiful. A copy has been made. Thank you.

Posted by: L- Practice makes perfect. They know their enemies. at August 13, 2023 04:15 PM (GshMh)

211 Beautiful post, Buck.

Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 13, 2023 05:22 PM (W3wi3)

212 By coincidence, this weekend was my parents' estate sale. I watched everything go out the door - many good memories - but there was no way we could keep all of it. I will be moving soon and though I have thinned out a lot of my stuff, I still have a lot left. Hope to shed more of it after the move.

Posted by: Dr Alice at August 13, 2023 08:17 PM (fBo8s)

213 One estate sale I went to I was chatting up the proprietor and he said they were cleaning out the house and found a cat-o-nine tails whip and a ball gag. But he said those were not the oddest items he had ever found.

Posted by: S. LYNN at August 13, 2023 08:17 PM (xnbkk)

214 Great essay Buck.
I've been an estate sale attender (with my wife) for awhile. Here are my own, less elegant, observations.
First is that this seems to be mostly an American custom. We have too much stuff when we die, the kids don't want it - too old, not fashionable and mostly they have too much stuff of their own.
Second, maybe related is the stuff left behind. Wedding photos and very touching family memorabilia.

My church teaches that judging others is the greatest sin but we (expecially my wife) does it constantly at estate sales. While I see the sadness she sees personal failings. For that reason she has left directions that there will be no estate sale when we're gone because the thought of all those strangers judging us is too much.

Once again Buck, thank you for the essay. It will stick with me for a long time.

Posted by: tfellow at August 14, 2023 02:42 AM (vUQxK)

215 Great read Buck! You put my feelings into words, so now they can be shared among many, and, with luck, be transported into the future.

Props!

Posted by: aawlberninf350 at August 14, 2023 03:04 AM (kY7kb)

216 Well said so true about the Time Machine.The overgrown garden part really got to me
It reminds me of this from Earl Hamner, a house is more than paint and walls, ceilings and floors, windows, and doors. It is a history of all those people it has sheltered. When we move away, we leave behind ghosts of the persons we were the prints of our fingers on the door frame, the marks on the floor, where we have walked the whisper of our voices, and all those things that were done and said.

Posted by: Fritz at August 14, 2023 10:18 AM (Cnx21)

217 My parents when they moved to town in the early 1960s, collected mostly from local auctions a lot of pretty pieces of china or crystal, some Limoges, Lalique, Meissen, and some bits of Delft. They decorated our dining room and table which was the nicest room in our 1957 home. It was curved with bay diamond-paned windows at one end that overlooked a good portion of Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, and Point Loma and the ocean from our hillside San Diego neigborhood. The way the sunset light even in winter shone on the porcelain was magical to me as a kid. The dark oak ceiling beams and wood built-in china hutches with swathes of blue and white wallpaper with neoclassical farm scenes gave a nice warm glow to the room when the candles were lit. So many dinners with Mom and Dad. When finally my Dad passed many years after our Mom, I only really kept those items as I feel they are still there with me at their old dinner table in my less nice condo without any view at all except for the neighboring condo plex on the embankment above me. It was hard to go through all the other things such as furniture and books and other family knickknacks that grew with.

Posted by: Donovan Nuera at August 14, 2023 02:55 PM (LKMDZ)

218 Great article. Very sentimental.

Posted by: Donovan Nuera at August 14, 2023 02:55 PM (LKMDZ)

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