Junk Drawer

I recently caught a glimpse of the Chicago skyline in my rearview mirror, while driving past an alley near Western Avenue and Diversey. This was not the real skyline, but an imaginary view, painted on three cardboard panels. I quickly got out and took them from the side of the dumpster and put them into the back of the hatchback, where they just barely fit.
Each section is about 4 ½ feet tall and 3 feet wide. The scene is mostly airbrushed, and it looks like it might have been part of a set from a play. A friend thinks that it has a certain cheesy charm that would be fitting for a prom, or a school dance. It was most likely from some special event, but now that that event has passed, this skyline has no place to be.
If it had been a backdrop for a dance, there must be photographs of this skyline there in the background, with everyone all dressed up. If so, then at least there will be some record of it, for memories of that moment.

I’ve since discovered that one of the panels fits perfectly in the window next to my bed, which helps block the morning sunlight better than the blinds do.
Besides that, it also offers a nice imaginary view.

Odds and ends form the basis of any good junk drawer. This zine is about a drawer and the various miscellaneous objects stowed away within.  It is full of musings on what these random items are, where they come from, and maybe why they’ve been saved, some for many years.  It is a mini excavation into stuff that doesn’t really have a place to belong, except for inside that space called the “junk drawer.”
Quarter size, black and white photocopied, 50 pages, about half text and half original photos and drawings.

“Junk Days,” to one particular community, is an annual spring cleaning time to throw things away. But to anyone who loves finding stuff thrown out, Junk Days is a terrific and fun event. This zine is partly a Junk Days guide to junking, with plenty of junk finding tips. It is also a chronicle of favorite finds, plus some Junk Days history. For anyone who enjoys dumpster diving, this is kind of an upscale, suburban version of it. Half size, black and white, 44 pages full of text and original photos straight from the curbsides of Junk Days.

Junk days in the north suburbs of Chicago were a little soggy this year.  There were fewer books and comfy chairs out to be found.  That’s because those are things that may have gotten wet and ruined.  Even though the residents are throwing their things away, I believe many of them don’t really want their things getting ruined.  They want someone to find them.  And that’s where junk finders like me and many others come in.

There was still plenty of good stuff to be found.