Things Left Behind

No one ever truly vacates a house. They always leave something behind, even if its just a coat hanger. And there is always, without fail, a coat hanger. What is it with the coat hanger? Maybe its a way of staking claim on what you've left behind; a way of saying, "Even though we have signed a bunch of papers, and even though I no longer have the keys, and even though all these official types with their endless supply of business cards tell us that the deal is done, this place will always be mine. I will always have a place to hang my coat." And that's kind of how I feel about the place that I am leaving. I designed and renovated it. My hand is all over it. When we move out, some strangers will move in. But I know that the place will always really be mine.

You can construct a whole personality out of the things left behind when somebody vacates a house. You can build a whole story out of bits of evidence. Here's a short inventory: two drawers chock-full of silverware and kitchen utensils (even though all of the other cabinets and drawers were thoroughly cleaned out), a framed diploma hanging on the living room wall, a pair of antlers above the door in the entryway, a foreign penny the size of a quarter left next to the keys on the buffet (a gift to us?), three coat hangers (each in different closets), half a roll of toilet paper, and a painting of a crying clown (yes, a crying clown) screwed to the wall above the basement toilet. There are subtle things too. In the pink bedroom, there is a series of faint lines drawn on the wall measuring a child's height. The first several lines have some writing in an Asian language next to them. Only the last two are in English, both dated 2007.

I could tell you all sorts of bits of information that I have learned about the previous owner. I could tell you the theories I've come up with about his story. But it feels like an invasion of his privacy to go on like this. I'm already in his house trying to pretend that it is mine. Maybe after some time has past, I'll share these thoughts. For now I'll just share the evidence with you and let you construct your own story.