Trashtastic Picks: Other People's Scraps

Pee-wee Herman's bowtie, a stoner's diary, UFO tourism, off-brand Snoopy, Sweet 16 invites

On any given weekend, you might find me estate sale-ing, where I’m known to head straight for the garage and dodge and weave my way through the depths of expired cleaning products and mouse droppings, hoping to find paper gems to “save.” I hate waiting in lines to get into a sale, because I’m not there for the hot-ticket items like vintage furniture, single-stitch tees, Pyrex, or a tie Alex Trebek maybe wore once. So, like, if a sale seems like it was promoted on TikTok by a thrifting influencer, and people are sleeping over in their cars to be the first in line, I’ll pass.

I beg of you: Give me the deepest corners of Aunt Susan’s forgotten boxes. Let me find what she squirreled away in 1973. I want the old plane tickets from now-defunct airlines, folded-up video store membership cards, hand-written notes to a lover’s lover on the back of a Bullock’s receipt. This is dumb, but the other day, I had to stop myself from grabbing a pack of Dentyne gum from 1983 left in an old stranger’s purse I opened up. It was some orange-colored flavor that I don’t think Dentyne makes anymore. The pack was fully ripped in half with only a couple of pieces left, but still, not taking it haunts me. I shall ask my therapist what this means, because truly, I did not, do not, and will never need that gum.

Paper scraps are much easier to save. I want to share a few choice items I’ve found over the past year… random bits of paper ephemera, each one screaming with the energy of many strangers. They came from different homes, but for real, they belong together now. As of right now, they are on my desk, but I’m placing them into their archived resting places in various portfolios as soon as I get this newsletter out. These items are not valuable in a financial sense, but they do jumpstart some creative engines, and they make me wonder: Who held these? Did they miss the paper after tossing it into a box for the final time? Or did they forget it the second it left their hands?

Either way, I’ve adopted them and promise to give them a good life, pay for their schooling, and feed them if they so wish.

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure Promotional Bowtie (1985)
cardboard and elastic

Found this in a vintage teenager’s purse that was falling apart. This baby was likely handed out at theaters to promote one of the most important cinematic events of my childhood: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. I grew up with my own copy of this film on VHS, which my parents recorded from pirated HBO. The VHS didn’t start recording until the moment in the movie that Pee-wee is pouring Mr. T cereal, so for the longest time I had no clue about the dream sequence that kicks off the film! I love that I found this recently, right after watching Pee-wee as Himself, the 2-part documentary that (finally) gave me, and a gazillion other weirdos, a glimpse into the life of Paul Reubens, the brilliant artist behind the character who became my masculinity model at the age of six.

Snoopy drawing (1982)
black marker on lined paper by Pete

And solid rendition of America’s fave dog, even though he looks a little forlorn. Light smudging. Discoloration along the edge of the loose-leaf notebook paper. Pete had talent. I like how the paper is folded into a square, as if the owner might’ve been looking for the perfect frame for the illustration but then left ol’ Snoopy to die in one of those blue canvas binders filled with history lessons instead. He’s safe with me now. (“Adopt don’t shop!”)

Sweet 16 cards by Drawing Board (1980s)
cardboard

These were in a stack at the bottom of a box. Unsent. Still waiting for my invite.

UFO Museum tri-fold brocure (1991)
glossy paper

I’m guessing the year this pamphlet was made, because 1991 was when this museum was founded and gained non-profit status. However, I did find this in a sticky briefcase stuffed with various hotel menus and tons of motel stationery from the 1970s, so my first guess would’ve been late-1970s, just because of the company it kept. Either way, has anyone gone? Looks fun.

Raggedy Anne Notebook Diary (1975-1976)
cardboard, paper, metal wire

A Southern California young person’s diary touching on “party eyes,” subtle transphobia, poetry, one mention of “coming out", and discussions with a minister about “looking forward to my meadow.” Plus, haunting drawings. I’ll share one entry below. Always a treat to dive headfirst into a stranger’s brain and wonder if they made it out safely to the other side. I wish them the best.

Thanks for hanging out with me. What do you think of my scrappy show and tell? Was it worth sharing? Collecting is a fun part of my life and I sometimes I believe I am the only one who finds my garbage finds interesting. If you’re a fellow ephemera or photo trash collector, let’s be pals!

Flame on my friends! Until next time…