We're having a rummage sale with the neighbors, which has led to some basement excavation.
Before buying a house, we used to move every few years and that pretty much guaranteed that no matter how much crap we acquired in the interim, there would be periodic junk shedding.
Once I moved from the fourth floor of one East Side building to an apartment on the second floor next door. That was the best house cleaning ever because I had to pass the garbage cans on the way. After lugging something down four flights, I paused in front of the green carts to determine whether it was worth carrying back up another set of steps. A lot of stuff went bye-bye.
But living in the same house for a few years has helped space fill up fast. There are all those things we didn't need to own as renters -- yard and garden equipment and tools, for example -- and the ephemera that comes with parenthood and we need to get some stuff out.
So, we're having a rummage sale to help clear out the stuff.
Although we have a stash of lovely treasure (this is not cast-offs, folks, this is quality merch) for the bargain hunters, looking around the basement you can tell from our eyes that we wish we could ditch more of this stuff. But over there are years of family memories captured on Kodachrome slides, over here are boxes of holiday decorations, and in that corner are the things we'll use to decorate the basement ... you know, once we finish the basement.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
