2006-06-04
A hidden place, sans the loot.
Tore down some ugly paneling on our basement stairway today, and to our surprise we found a secret compartment! Unfortunately, there was no pot of gold or even a loose $20 bill in there, but it is pretty big and was definitely put there to hide stuff. Now that I'm posting this on the web, I suppose hiding stuff there wouldn't make any sense, and we don't have anything of value to hide in there anyway -- Birgit and I both think diamonds are gaudy and gold isn't our color. (Although, it's been suggested that I invest in gold before... ;>).
We're going to tear out all the paneling and try our first small-scale construction project together this summer. We want to put up drywall, so the secret compartment will be gone. Again, it's not worth robbing our house unless you want a bunch of unwanted baseball cards.
Yes, yesterday I sold my baseball cards for $120. But they wouldn't take about half of them because they are worthless. So now I have three boxes full of "worthless" cards. I hope to chuck them onto a bonfire this summer up at the cabin... burn my unhappy childhood memories away. I'm glad I scraped up some money for my collection. When I sold an '89 complete set of Score cards, the guy laughed, pointed at the '89 price tag on the box, $25.00, and said, "I hope you paid for this in pennies." It is only worth $6 today. And considering the dollar has gone down in value, I suppose that means it is worth about two 1989 dollars. Hell, a pack of cards cost 25-cents and then 50-cents back in the day. Today? A back with fewer cards will run you $3. Merde! Like I said, I should have collected comics.
But this $120 comes in light of the fact that I seem to have misplaced or thrown out $140 I had left after returning from Brazil. I had set it aside to help buy a new camera. On my bookshelf. I think. Well... it's not there anymore. I've dug in every book, under every manhole cover, and even in the secret space we found today -- just in case supernatural forces were at work here. Nada. It's gone. Did the dog eat it? Did I throw it out while weeding through the mountain of paperwork that had piled up while I was off galavanting in Brazil? Did I stuff it in my short pockets only to have it fall out, unbeknownst to me, while stuffing my face with donuts at Toby's in Hinckley last weekend? Is some busboy now incredibly happy, playing three new video games on his PS2 because I stupidly left a wad of cash laying on the table at a Chinese diner? Who knows? I don't. All I know is it isn't in the freezer, wrapped up in tinfoil, with $89,860 worth of other bills, unfortunately. I doubt even the FBI could find this money. Merde! Merde! P-Merde, if you know what I mean.
We're going to tear out all the paneling and try our first small-scale construction project together this summer. We want to put up drywall, so the secret compartment will be gone. Again, it's not worth robbing our house unless you want a bunch of unwanted baseball cards.
Yes, yesterday I sold my baseball cards for $120. But they wouldn't take about half of them because they are worthless. So now I have three boxes full of "worthless" cards. I hope to chuck them onto a bonfire this summer up at the cabin... burn my unhappy childhood memories away. I'm glad I scraped up some money for my collection. When I sold an '89 complete set of Score cards, the guy laughed, pointed at the '89 price tag on the box, $25.00, and said, "I hope you paid for this in pennies." It is only worth $6 today. And considering the dollar has gone down in value, I suppose that means it is worth about two 1989 dollars. Hell, a pack of cards cost 25-cents and then 50-cents back in the day. Today? A back with fewer cards will run you $3. Merde! Like I said, I should have collected comics.
But this $120 comes in light of the fact that I seem to have misplaced or thrown out $140 I had left after returning from Brazil. I had set it aside to help buy a new camera. On my bookshelf. I think. Well... it's not there anymore. I've dug in every book, under every manhole cover, and even in the secret space we found today -- just in case supernatural forces were at work here. Nada. It's gone. Did the dog eat it? Did I throw it out while weeding through the mountain of paperwork that had piled up while I was off galavanting in Brazil? Did I stuff it in my short pockets only to have it fall out, unbeknownst to me, while stuffing my face with donuts at Toby's in Hinckley last weekend? Is some busboy now incredibly happy, playing three new video games on his PS2 because I stupidly left a wad of cash laying on the table at a Chinese diner? Who knows? I don't. All I know is it isn't in the freezer, wrapped up in tinfoil, with $89,860 worth of other bills, unfortunately. I doubt even the FBI could find this money. Merde! Merde! P-Merde, if you know what I mean.
