Treasures abound!
So, you’ve heard about dad, he was a unique fellow. We’ve delved enough into the sadness, let’s get on to the quest..
Sifting through the remains of my dad’s life was specifically difficult due to the egregious amounts of roach and rat excrement. Emotions are hard, but have you ever had to find valuable items covered in excrement?
That being said, it’s a strange thing to hold $10,000 in your hands.
Yes yes, you read that right, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Dad’s house was disgusting, let’s get that out of the way. It was always sort of gross, but at least it was inhabitable. As a kid I got used to shaking out my shoes before putting them on lest a roach had made it way into them overnight. It happened once and was pretty horrifying, but then again I spent a fair amount of time in the Marines in desert training where camel spiders were a constant threat, so it was all pretty familiar. That was honestly the biggest of concerns growing up, roaches, everything else was pretty normal and livable.
In later years as everyone grew up and left dad alone his depression really took a toll on him, and the house became dirtier. He didn’t have much in the way of funds to do the sort of preventative maintenance that a homeowner finds themselves having to do. When that is your reality you let things slide which inevitably builds upon itself to the point that you have gaping holes in your walls to the elements. Top that off with his obsessive nature to collect things which might have value in the future, and you can guess what the interior state of the house was.
Which makes it all the more amazing that he had anything of actual value in the house at all. I should preface that statement with an understanding that it ‘s not like he was keeping gold in the house, everything with an assumed level of value is based solely upon a quick google search for similarly sold auctions. For the record, he did actually have gold in the house, but it got stolen by former roommates.
Anyways, it’s a strange thing searching through boxes in his garage and finding the first volume of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book languishing in a box but mercifully preserved in plastic against the ravages of the elements. Also found discarded in his garage: two binders full of Garbage Pail Kids, Silver Surfer #1, and several copies of She Hulk #1. Which are ludicrous things to find in a garage if you know what they are. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, just funny that at this instance they were both the same man.
Depression is a strange thing though, it really makes you into a different person the more it takes a hold of your life. Dad had depression, amongst a host of other mental illnesses, so it’s a wonder that he was able to come this far. I suppose it’s easier to fight through things when it’s for something you actually enjoy. Kind of how I like to write despite having a job which drains the life from my body.
Back to strange feelings, it’s honestly becoming a looming question in my mind if I sell the really expensive stuff. Specifically the TMNT #1, sure it’s effectively a down payment on a new car once I grade it, sell it, and split the profit with my sister. But also, how cool would it be to hold on to something of that kind of value for another generation. The Turtles are going nowhere as they remain extremely popular thanks to their rebranding every so often, and at some point the value of that item may exceed the price of someone’s house. All things to think about here on the quest.
Thanks for joining! Tell your friends to party up as we continue to journey forward.