Have you ever walked past a pile of trash that was left on the curb and said "Oooh! I NEED that chair" or "Why would anyone throw away a machete?"

I'm not George Costanza, I don't look for 1/4 eaten eclairs sitting on top of recycle bins, but I've always been fascinated with the items that people throw away. I guess it comes from years of watching Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, and working down the street from the Elephant's Trunk all these years.

Here's a long story short: When Mrs. Large became my wife, I threw away my adult videos and magazines out of embarrassment. I had about two or three garbage bags full of filth. (Hey, I was a single man through most of the 80's and 90's, give me a break)

I always imagined that I made the Waterbury garbage men's year that day. I pictured my three bags of filth ripping open on the line, and a big air raid siren going off. Followed by the announcement of "Gentlemen, this is the day we've been dreaming of!"

Do these kind of events happen every day? I'm not close friends with anyone that works in waste management or refuse, but I think that it must.

I've seen hundreds of stories like this while watching the television shows devoted to garbage picking. There's always some lucky sap that just happened to stop by a tag sale and found a piece of Picasso pottery worth thousands that a dimwit was selling for a dollar.

What's your story? Did you find Thomas Edison's diary in an old pile of books? Did you happen upon an old piece of Mayan folk art worth thousands? I'd like to hear them.

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