said object

I have a thing for corkscrews, bottle openers, and other strange old kitchen utensils. I rarely use them, just like to admire them, the rustier and clunkier, the better. Here are few nice utensils I’ve found in various thrift shops (these 4 on sale in my etsy shop at the moment) ; simple and utilitarian in design. And I found a few more from some great Etsy shops…

This is the first in a series called “Fish Stories”. Fictitious accounts of the owners and authors of books I find at thrift shops. Most likely I will put them up for sale at some point.

Title: The Art and Science of Homemaking
Owner: Mariam Wetter
Purchased: In her 3rd year of marriage by her mother-in-law, Bett. Wrapped in elaborate paper with a note, that read, “Feed your man and he’ll forgive you in the bedroom.”

When Virgil got into Harvard he expected so much more. It wasn’t the academics, his ivy covered dorm room, the French doors or dusty tomes on the library shelves. These were just as elegant as the brochure had shown. It was the women. He expected them to be shiny, glowing and full of luster like new Christmas toys. Yes, he saw the types in the quad milling about; the blondes, the reds and the chesnuts. Donning Bermuda shorts and glancing about, stretching their perfect necks like proud swans. The long …

Swimming in the deep end we discovered the object. It was hard and cold and had curled its body around itself. Why it chose the water, I wasn’t sure. Was it a creature that could breathe under water? It was hard to say. We carried it out of the water and set it on the concrete patio. It was still for a long time and Auggie touched it with his wet fingers. He said it felt hard and still almost like plastic but now it felt warm. The creature stirred …

The rivers and valleys of the world reside in the silver swirls of the bear. Often when he’s placed on a shelf, I sit and am mesmerized by his heady form. But like others he keeps his back to me and is not trustworthy. But this has its advantages because you always learn more by watching the backs of men. What is hairy is reproachable and stunted. Clean, smooth shaven is a sign of clarity but proves often to be shallow and insipid. Hunched is the most stable and …