Figuring it would be the dirtiest and most-difficult room to clean out, I left the basement for last. About 10 minutes into the task, I completely regretted my decision. There was more crap in the basement than I had anticipated and it was unlikely I could tackle the thing in one day. It was at least going to take two.

Unfortunately, I planned everything around finishing the task in just one day by selling off all of the beds and sofas. I was going to have to pull my dad’s inflatable mattress for hunting and sleep on the floor of an empty house for at least a night or two like I was a junkie squatter.

I have to admit the primary reason it was taking me so long to clean out the basement was that about every third item I found was something I felt I had to examine. Whether it be an old photo album, a high school yearbook of my mom’s littered with notes from classmates back in the 60s or old newspapers which featured articles about my dad’s high school football exploits, my progress was rather slow.

I had made it about a third of the way through all of the crap down in the basement when I decided I would try to find something to eat in a northern Minnesota town of less than 2,000 people after 8 on a Monday in December. Luckily, I remembered there was a Domino’s a town over which confirmed they could send a small cheese pizza my way.