And I sat back on my heels with my hand over my mouth, because inside that old suitcase were books. Childrens books. Dozens of them, worn soft from reading, and …

I cleaned house for old Mr. Hale twenty-eight years up here in Sylva — in his will he left me one thing, a locked suitcase from under his bed Read More

I worked it free and unwrapped the rag standing right there, and I set the whole thing down on the garage floor, because it was a book. A big ledger, …

The old gas station and bait shop out on Highway 84 finally shut its doors — I bought the drink cooler, and behind the compressor was something wired tight Read More

I lifted it out and carried it up into the daylight, and I had to sit right down on the ground, because it was a wedding dress. A whole wedding …

The old potato house on the land we bought outside Presque Isle was caving in — behind a hand-built stone wall in the cellar, something was standing in the dark Read More

I lifted it out and unwrapped it right there on the office floor, and I had to sit down flat on the floor myself, because it was a bundle of …

An old law office downtown here in Kingsport closed up — I bought a thirty-dollar fireproof cabinet, and the locked bottom drawer held one thing Read More

I shut the grinder off, pulled my gloves, and just stood there in the garage over what was inside, because it was not the thing a mind jumps to when …

Bought an old snowmobile for next to nothing up here in Bemidji — under the seat was a metal box somebody had welded shut on purpose Read More

I cut it open and lifted the lid, and I sat right down on that open cab door, because inside that welded box was a reel of recording tape, a …

Won an old Silverado at the church benefit auction — cutting out the rusted cab floor, I found a metal box welded under the mat Read More

I worked it out and carried it to the kitchen light and unwrapped the oilcloth, and I had to sit down on the floor, because it was a ledger. A …

At an estate sale for an old lady out on the lake near Traverse City, I bought an antique oak icebox — behind a false board was something she had hidden for a lifetime Read More

Wade got it loose and unwrapped it right there on the floor, and then he said, real low and real quiet, for me to come look, and I got down …

Bought a used washer for forty bucks off a sale page — my brother pulled the panel to chase a rattle, and behind the tub was something wired to the frame Read More

I got down on my bad knees and shined a flashlight into the hole, and I had to switch it off and just sit there in the dark a while, …

I am eighty-one years old, and last month I finally knocked down the old pump house over the well on my land Read More

I cut the wire and worked it loose and unwrapped it standing right there in my own basement, and I sat down on the rail of that table, because it …

Old Stan tavern on the corner closed down after forty years — I bought the pool table for a hundred bucks, and under the slate was something wired tight Read More