Taking Down the Basement

The basement is a special place in many homes.  There are many tales of gentlemen like me converting their uninhabitable under-space into more hangout-able dwellings.

I smell multiple emotional, gushing posts coming here!

Just looking at one end of that room makes me misty.  The smell of cheap and free decor reaches out to me! Let's break down the above photo...

The wall centerpiece is the PBR sign (seen elsewhere on this blog in packed up form...sad.)  Found dusty and neglected in the back room of an antique store in Northwest Iowa, it was rescued, cleaned, and brought to its first real home.  The antique proprietors didn't even have a price on it, assuming no one would ever want it because of some minor condition issues.  My offer of "Five bucks!" must have made their day.

How 'bout those sports license plates?  See the two Montreal Expos plates?  How about the blurry top plate on the right column?  Can't see it?  Here's the logo on it:

That plate (and all the others) came in a paper sack that cost me one dollar, total.  All those collectors items PLUS the other junk in a grocery sack for a buck.  Church Rummage Sale, YES!

Scroll back up and take a look at the Old Style Light box art hanging on the wall to the left of Old Glory.  That box was saved because I found it (full of beer, of course) by the dumpster behind the apartment complex down the street.  Ever year on July 31st/August 1st, the apartment leases all turn over.  This means lots of lazy, desperate people leave perfectly valuable possessions out on the street and piled up by overflowing dumpsters.  The full 30 of Old Style Light with dusty cans?  Check.  "Why So Serious" movie poster?  Check.  Big plastic bubbly drink thing that's actually very difficult to see in this photo?  Check (believe me).  

Finishing up the wall, notice the Stars and Stripes flying just a little higher than the other decorations?  Official flag etiquette mandates no other decorations may be higher.  From USFlag.org:

Displaying the Flag Indoors

When on display, the flag is accorded the place of honor, always positioned to its own right. Place it to the right of the speaker or staging area or sanctuary. Other flags should be to the left.

The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of states, localities, or societies are grouped for display.

When one flag is used with the flag of the United States of America and the staffs are crossed, the flag of the United States is placed on its own right with its staff in front of the other flag.

When displaying the flag against a wall, vertically or horizontally, the flag's union (stars) should be at the top, to the flag's own right, and to the observer's left.

As for that bar there?  That better wait for another post.  In the meantime, you all get Culture Club.

As always, read, subscribe, comment, and enjoy!