The end of an era...

[imashooter2]

http://www.imashooter2.com/pictures/sheath.jpg

As some of you might recall, my Father passed away last August and I was named executor of his estate. It's been a surprisingly tedious and not very happy chore. The absolute worst of it has been selling the house. There are four of us left, and we all have our own long established homes. Not really any room to take in another house full of furniture. So we had a couple of weekends, where we went through every room and laid claim to what we wanted. Some stuff was worth a little money I guess, but really we kids just took small items of sentimental value. Next we had a series of yard / house sales. That was a humbling experience, seeing just how much value the world puts on your stuff. And then finally, after we couldn't give anything more away, we got a 30 yard dumpster and hired a couple of burly boys to clear the place to bare walls. The dining room set, beds, office furniture... A lifetime, off to the landfill.

Anyway, Last Monday I was sweeping out the basement getting the place ready to transfer when I swept this little 3 ounce chunk of cable sheath out from under the stairs. I was pretty melancholy to start with, and the sight of this bit of scrap brought a tear to my eye. I just sat down on the stairs for a little while and let the memories flood back... I can still see my Pop, young and strong, standing by his work bench casting H&G 50's and instilling in me a passion that carries on to this day.

We closed on the place last Friday. It seems odd that I'll probably never walk through that front door again. All that's left of the life of a Telephone Man and his beloved Wife are a few trinkets and the memories...

[MtGun44]

Dang, you got me going. Did the final cleanout of my parent's place on Thursday, we have a buyer
lined up. Still a hangar full of tools, aircraft and junk left to deal with, 1200 miles from my home.

Yes - some of it is pretty sad, lots of stuff that is important to me for sentimental reasons, but not
worth much to anybody else. My father was away in the Navy much of my youth, I learned to reload
and cast with a neighbor, but we did shoot together and he was a fine shot. My brother has his K-38
and I have one souvenir round that he swaged and loaded for it, many decades ago.
I have a few guns from him, and a huge store of incredible memories. Dealing with the stuff is not
easy, it has been two years, and we are maybe 60-70% done.

Bill

[osteodoc08]

I just sat down on the stairs a little while and let the memories flood back.......

Sounds like your folks left you richer than any money could ever provide. I still have my mother but my father and I shared a much stronger bond. I miss him every day. I don't want to say it gets easier, but you do learn to continue on and enjoy the things that let you enjoy the memories.

[shooter93]

There is a great deal more left of them than a few trinkets and memories. There are a huge number of memories from all the people whose life they touched, not just the siblings. I still meet people who say....oh I knew your parents.....great people they were. I was fortunate to be extremely close to my parents, worked with my Father for decades and had a relationship with them most would envy. Even years from now you will hear their words and heed the guidance they gave you. I still hear pops voice and remember all he taught me nearly every day at work. I'm sure it will be the same for you.

[jcwit]

WOW! Haven't you guys ever heard of estate auctions? I was executor of my parents estate, there were 3 of us boys, after we went thru and picked the personal items we wished to keep, the rest went under the hammer. All sold in one day and over with, house cleaned out to the bare walls as well as everything in a fairly large barn. Sure, the auctioneer got his cut but hey it was all gone and there was money made. Final cleanup of misc. that did not sell was hauled to the landfill in one small pickup.

There is an old saying, one mans junk is another mans treasure.

[imashooter2]

We went to a couple estate auction houses when my Father in Law passed 20 years ago. Those ******** can rot in hell. I'd rather pile everything in the driveway and set it on fire than let those leeches have a thin dime.

[jcwit]

We went to a couple estate auction houses when my Father in Law passed 20 years ago. Those ******** can rot in hell. I'd rather pile everything in the driveway and set it on fire than let those leeches have a thin dime.

Your choice to turn down money.

I paid our auctioneer 10% of total sales. Not bad for him and his crew to take care of everything. When the auction was over sales came to close to $200,000. Was it worth a little less than $20,000, in a heart beat.


Sorry to hear things are that way out east. Just another reason to live in the middle.

[fishhawk]

Believe it or not ...money isn't every thing. How can you put a value on some thing that reminds you of the loved one's you no longer have. Many many times have been having a problem fixing or working on some thing and i see a article my GF or GM had and I can hear them giving advise or just laughing at how dumb I was doing it. Memories and the things that bring back to memory's are priceless.

[wddodge]

Your choice to turn down money.

I paid our auctioneer 10% of total sales. Not bad for him and his crew to take care of everything. When the auction was over sales came to close to $200,000. Was it worth a little less than $20,000, in a heart beat.


Sorry to hear things are that way out east. Just another reason to live in the middle.

10% is not bad at all. A couple of years ago when I was in need of getting rid of a housefull of stuff, the auction housed I checked all wanted 50%. And one was requiring a buyers premium on top of that.

Denny

[jcwit]

10% is not bad at all. A couple of years ago when I was in need of getting rid of a housefull of stuff, the auction housed I checked all wanted 50%. And one was requiring a buyers premium on top of that.

Denny

WOW, the Shipshewana antique auction doesn't even ask that much here.

[jcwit]

Believe it or not ...money isn't every thing. How can you put a value on some thing that reminds you of the loved one's you no longer have. Many many times have been having a problem fixing or working on some thing and i see a article my GF or GM had and I can hear them giving advise or just laughing at how dumb I was doing it. Memories and the things that bring back to memory's are priceless.

Correct, money isn't everything, and memories mean a lot and are priceless.

But the difference between taking stuff to a landfill versus selling it by whatever means, I'll take the cash every time.

[Rhou45]

imshooter2,

I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your sentimental journey, I know the many issues you have had to deal with are each difficult in their own, combined they can be overwhelming.

Damn the money, its useless paper backed only by our faith in the government to maintain economic & civic stability. No wonder the value of the dollar is so depreciated. The memories you had with your parents is not stored in the material possessions but in you and your families shared collective spirit.

Ralph

[jcwit]

Damn the money, its useless paper backed only by our faith in the government to maintain economic & civic stability.

Ralph

Really?

How bout giving up next months paychecks.

Check post 11.

[imashooter2]

WOW, the Shipshewana antique auction doesn't even ask that much here.

10% would have been no issue at all.

The auction houses we dealt with wanted that same 50% plus they wanted us to pay for 2 guys and a truck to take their half of our possessions to the auction house so they could rape us.

Like I said, I'd rather pile it up and burn it. I like money, but I hate being screwed more.

[jcwit]

10% would have been no issue at all.

The auction houses we dealt with wanted that same 50% plus they wanted us to pay for 2 guys and a truck to take their half of our possessions to the auction house so they could rape us.

Like I said, I'd rather pile it up and burn it. I like money, but I hate being screwed more.

Now understood.

[birddog]

imashooter2,
Dang it man I look back on 19 yrs since Dad passed and we had an auction on most of the remaining things that ment no sintimental value to us. Back in 96 the auctioneers only asked for 10% so it wasn't a bad day when the tally hit $14,000. It is always hard to let go and indeed a tear comes to my eyes today just thinking about him. The memories last forever my friend!!
Charlie

[Handloader109]

Sorry for your loss. My dad's been gone a bit over 20 yrs now. Lot of Memories. Mom is still with us and until she's gone, I won't have to go thru the house. Brother has the shop and those items which makes it that much easier. Do think back on home a lot, more so as I get older. Wish he was here to talk with a lot.

[edler7]

I understand your feelings about never walking through the front door again. My sister and I cleaned out and sold our parent's house about 3 years ago. My mom has been gone 3 years and my dad 27. It had been my home all my life, even though I hadn't lived there since the early 70's. When I am in town, it's strange to drive by it and not turn in the driveway because it belongs to someone else now. The tree where I had my tree house as a kid is still there, along with 10 million memories.

Eventually the memories of your dad will bring happiness instead of melancholy, I suppose someday 704 S. 4th will be "the house I grew up in" instead of "home"...but it isn't yet.

[jcwit]

I kept the house I grew up in that belonged to my parents as part of my share of the settlement.

Auction was Saturday.

House totally empty Sunday.

All New carpet laid Monday and new appliances put in.

All new furniture brought in Tuesday.

Got married a few months later, and raised 2 daughters.

Life has been very good to me and I've been very Blessed.

[CastingFool]

I have a few of my dad's hand tools. About a week ago, I used his old 12oz hammer he used quite often, as he liked to build small things. It just about brought tears to my eyes. He's been gone 5 years now

[MaryB]

When dad died in a car accident 2 years ago mom had to move into an assisted living condo complex where someone is always on call to help. So we had to clean the entire house and sell what we could, give away what wouldn't sell... we did landfill one 30 yard container of pure junk from dad's auction habit... he loved oxes of junk to get one tool, rest piled up and half filled a 2 stall garage.

I went through a lot of it and pulled out all the antique tools to auction, neither of my brothers is very mechanical so they didn't have a clue what half of it was even. I kept a bunch of electrical tools and wire/wiring hardware that dad had left from being an electrician, will use it up wiring my shop this summer.

Mom was a pack rat too and had 2 rooms full of basically junk we had to toss, she wasn't happy but nowhere to store it in the condo she bought when the lake house sold.

But all of us kept some memory pieces, I got back the old 16 gauge shotgun dad gave me at 14... I had restored it and given it back when I was late 20's and he used to to pheasant hunt up until his death. Little single shot Stevens, lightweight and easy to carry for a long day walking. Others picked out their favorite guns, we sold what none of us wanted as keepsakes to help mom out. I get that gun out a few times a year and go bust some clay with it, brings back memories of the pheasant hunts with the entire family.

[jcwit]

I'm just glad around here the auctions still stay in the 20% to 10% range. All depends how much $$$$'s are sold.

[fatelk]

It seems odd that I'll probably never walk through that front door again. All that's left of the life of a Telephone Man and his beloved Wife are a few trinkets and the memories...

Imashooter, thank you for posting. Having arrived solidly in the middle of middle-aged, I find myself thinking about these kinds of things. We spend decades accumulating all our stuff, and for what? In the end your kids haul it off as so much junk. The memories are treasure; the people whose lives you touch are gold.

I'm getting up now to leave my reloading room and spend more time with my kids.

[MtGun44]

We donated all the stuff that didn't sell in our estate sale to the
Lions Club, and got a substantial tax deduction from it. \

Two auction houses came by and one declined entirely the other
one would do it, but said they would take EVERYTHING for us
PAYING THEM $2200 and they haul it to their auction, then "give you half
of what we are able to sell, but it won't be very much" We held an
estate sale and made about $4K, so more than $6K ahead of the
auction thieves, plus we kept a good bit of the furniture and such
ourselves - they wanted ALL OF IT, and we would have had nothing.

[gmsharps]

My mother passed away last May and have the same thing to go through after I get back in June. My wife has been doing a great job of sorting out things but it is still going to take a while.

gmsharps

[imashooter2]

We donated all the stuff that didn't sell in our estate sale to the
Lions Club, and got a substantial tax deduction from it. \

-snip-

We tried desperately to give away the furniture. Many calls made. Goodwill would take it if we dropped it off. They were the only ones that were even interested. Couldn't even give it away with freecycle ads on Craig's List. I still have a hard time believing it. :(

[mold maker]

I guess there is some value to being an only child, but it's also a curse. My family, cared for my parents through the end. Since the home place, is next door, to both my kids places, I just moved the two blocks, back home.
Only problem is, there's only room for what we're wearing. Mom, Dad, and I added on in 1958, and Mom added a handicap bath, bedroom, and garage with indoor ramp in 1999. Being collectors all their lives, and passing on the jean, has left me with two homes full of stuff. Not valuable stuff, but all of holding memories of my and our kids childhoods.
I've given away as much as the kids will part with. I've hauled several loads to the dump, and fill an extra 96 gal trash can weekly, for over two years. but the empty space seems to disappears faster than I can make it.
Turns out most the hobbies my parents enjoyed hold little interest for me, but the children have other ideas.
Plus the fact that their always looking for a place to temporarily store some of their overflow.
Yeah right.
Admittedly, I have moved in almost all of my life time collection of loading gear and supplies, except for the lead. It is all in one room and an cubby cave, under a porch.
I feel for those that due to life's circumstances, have to dispose of family treasures. Truly it's like throwing away ones memories.
Just remember, memories can't be sold or disposed of. They are there every time you close your mind to todays events. They are forever stored in the private places in our minds. The rest is just stuff.

[mjwcaster]

Sorry for your loss.
Our parents are still going, but my dad had tried to kick off twice (move to florida and have a hear attack seems to be the in thing now days, just had a student who had one 5 minutes after walking into his new home down there for the first time)
Currently fighting with a stubborn pollack to change doctors and get to some specialists, wife just got off the phone with her mom this morning.
Woman can't breath, won't stop smoking, won't go to the doctor, collapsed in a parking lot last week and called the wife who left work early, but then she would not seek any medical treatment.

I hope all these stubborn SOB's keep fighting, as I do not want to lose them, no matter how big a pain they can be.

I have done the empty the house thing for my maternal grand parents and made it back east to rescue my paternal great grandmothers pets a little late, after the rest of the family took the valuables and junked the rest.
I was a teenager back then and all I wanted was 2 keepsakes that had been promised me, but they had been trashed.
A lamp made by a german POW from spent artillery/rifle shells given to my great uncle who was his prison guard and a lamp my great grandmother had made.
The checker and marble sets that she taught me how to play on would have been nice also.

When my dad and I went for the services for his mother I learned more about the house that my grandfather had built as we wandered around it before being able to fall asleep.
Like where the foundation was 3-4' thick after the wall was knocked in by a careless dozer operator, how the back porch was built cantilevered and another bomb proof project, all sorts of little things I had never heard before, even with all the stories we would talk about.
Sat at the kitchen table one last time and shared stories, we both had some that the other hadn't heard before.
As I told my dad, we had better breath it all in, as I had no plans on ever going back to the area again. And we haven't.

But now I do share my memories of them with my daughter who loves story times, so they are still with us, in our hearts, even if she never met them before.
She also loves going through the old photo albums, and hearing more stories.
And we google earth the old houses and neighbor hoods, so she can see where my folks grew up and where I played as a kid.

[shdwlkr]

Lost dad 11 years ago and mom 10, I was lucky as my sister got the work to do all I had to do was be on the other end of the phone a few times. I will get dad's table saw and I don't know what else when my sister is done with things. She got the house and everything in it, which was fine with me.
I don't want the house but some things in it would be nice to remember family members if I am the last one left standing, could still be my older sister as life has been interesting for me. working on road construction, military, building/working on houses I have been exposed to a lot of nasty stuff.
I know years ago when I was on a nuclear response team my renkin(spelling might be off) badge it was way past safe limits way back then. the instructor just said I should have been dead from radiation exposure a long time ago. So I think I am living on borrowed time.

[imashooter2]

Searching for something else and this turned up again. Hard to believe it has been over 6 years now.

I still love you Pop. Give Momma a kiss for me.