Dead Mans Free Zone

Ties used to be my thing. My collection consists of over 200 unique, colorful, amazing pieces. The ties are old to new and came from thrift shops, donation, or as gifts. Every one acquires random things such as ties but their method of finding them can lead to some interesting stories.

As I was sitting in my corner at work waiting for the bar patrons to check their belongings I was browsing Craigslists' "Free" section. I found a title to a posting which I could not resist clicking to learn more. "FREE ESTATE", the location listed was Chelsea which anyone familiar with Manhattan real estate knows is a pricey area. My automatic assumption was that there could be something of value so I emailed the address listed to inquire with and got a nearly immediate response.

A tenant in an apartment building had recently died and had no listed family so the landlord created a post on Craigslist to see if anyone would be interested in taking some of the items. I was given an address and time to arrive, the information was added to my calendar. On the day of I went to the gym and then made my way to the apartment.

I entered the large building where I instantly came to the conclusion that this building required some significant financial standings to reside in due to the fact that the front door was one of those automatic sliding doors you see in Grocery stores. There were also desk men and elevators-all further signs that the rent in this building was high. All these signs and the fact that I was headed to an apartment on the top floor at the end of the hallway made me think that this was it, I'm going to find something good here today.

Walking down a dimly lit carpeted hallway I instantly pictured seeing the man who's apartment I was about to pick through wheeling down the hallway on a stretcher in a body bag. I saw the zipper slide down, his body perk up, and him saying that he hopes I find something good as his skin starts to fall off. There was something odd about what I was about to do but let's be honest, that feeling had never stopped me before.

The apartment looked as if it were searched through by the FBI and in rage of a lack of findings they just threw his shit everywhere. As you enter the residence there's a huge living room, one bedroom, a bathroom, and a good sized kitchen. There was even a blood stain on the carpet from where the previous owner had been shot. HaHa come on-just playing.

I was there for clothes so I immediately went for the bedroom. The landlord said that most of his tenants clothes had already been sent to the salvation army and my heart dropped. Fortunately though there were still some items for me to browse.

The jackpot was a few boxes of old watches clearly with no value mixed in with some old school (like 60's-70's) sunglasses. I took 2 watches and 8 pairs of sunglasses. Then I noticed a few unopened closets in the kitchen and I found a suit that fit and a vintage Paul Smith shirt. After concluding that I had covered all areas that required searching I managed to leave with a full body mirror as well.

Some clothes, lots of sunglasses, and a mirror added to my inventory all because I was bored at work and was scanning the free section of Craigslist. This is clear evidence that dead people can still be cool. Thanks dead guy from west 23rd street, may you rest in peace.