A Pirate Looks at 41

I felt a bit like a pirate this weekend.

I spent Saturday with my dad who had bought an old house and is refurbishing it. The house belonged to a guy who had a had a bad car accident years ago. His family went through it and took everything they wanted but left a lot of stuff.

I found a closet full of record albums. Little Feat, Foreigner, Elvis, Alvin and the Chipmunks, AC-DC, and Jethro Tull. I found books by Lewis Grizzard and three old 45’s by Nat King Cole. I also got a 20-inch tv and a label maker

It was kind of creepy going through the stuff, but the Salvation Army will come in and take everything that is left so I was able to take what I wanted. I left a Shriner’s fez, a cabinet full of beer steins and coffee mugs and lots of shirts and furniture.

There was a 1992 Sears Christmas Wishbook which was fun to go through and see how prices have gone up and down in the past 13 years. There was a 45 pound word processor for $2,000 and Nike tennis shoes for $89. VHS video cameras were priced at $2,000 and console television sets (the kind with the wood grain finish) for $1,200.

Funny how 1992 seems so recent in ways.