Jerry's Junk

On an unassuming corner in the eclectic Clifton neighborhood of Louisville, KY is a two-story brick house.   If  driving by on Frankfort Avenue, one might not even notice the house and would have no idea of what's hidden within the house and in plain sight behind the owner's gates.  But, if you're the least bit observant, there's a good chance that the vintage Ford Coca-Cola delivery truck, the rusty railroad caboose, or the groups of people that always seem to be gazing through the owner's gates might grab your attention. 

The latter is what initially caught my attention.  I mean, it's kind of rude when people stand on the sidewalk and peer into someone else's backyard, so that definitely made me wonder what was going on.  Then I noticed the life size caboose, then the aerial bomb, then a replica of the Statue of Liberty.  As I approached the house, I asked an onlooker if that was a private residence.  She said, "Yes, it's Jerry's Lotz's house, the owner of Jerry's Junk."  Before that moment, I had no idea this place existed.  It was by accident that I was even on that street to begin with (I was  searching for a mural).

The owner, Jerry Lotz, said that he started collecting when he was around 8 years old. Now an octogenarian, Lotz has been collecting for decades and his enormous collection is very...  overwhelming. Looking through the gates, for me, was much like looking at a larger-than-life I Spy book!  I would easily say that one could make multiple return trips and see things that hadn't been seen before. 

During my first visit, I completely missed these jewels that were parked in plain sight in what would essentially be his front and side yards.  The vintage cars are actually parked on a yellow brick road, too.

Although he has enthusiastically shown his collection to people in the past, it's been said that he's now suffering from dementia and no longer does so.  Still, the collection is worth a trip to the Clifton neighborhood to see.  Just remember to be respectful if you make a visit; this is a private residence in a residential neighborhood.  If you go, you may get lucky and see Jerry himself, as he often sits outside on this upstairs deck overlooking his treasures.

Linking Up With:

Shooting Stars Mag and Not In Jersey

Random-osity

&

Budget Travelers Sandbox

Previous posts about Louisville:

A Guide to Louisville's Street Murals Part 1 & Part 2
T is for Thunder Over Louisville

Summer Is...

Kayaking

Boston Ferns

Lightning bugs

No alarm clocks

No rush hour traffic

Purple chicory blossoms

Morning walks in the park

Quiet time sitting on the deck 

Waking after the sun has risen

Extended quality time with my dog

Simply being Ericka instead of Mrs. B.

Today is my first official day of summer break.  So, even though spring still has 3 weeks left in it, it's summer in my mind.


What is summer to you?  Thanks for stopping by!

Inspired by Steph's post

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Worlds I'd Never Want to Live In & Past, Present, Future

via

My blog is pulling double duty today as I am participating in two linkups - Top Ten Tuesday and Tell Me Tuesday.

BOOKISH WORLDS I'D NEVER WANT TO LIVE IN

In any of the alternate realities in the Destroyer trilogy

This is a hard one to describe without revealing too much.  In the beginning of the first book, the setting is in a North America that never experienced the American Revolution.  Over the course of the three books, the settings change quite drastically. 

Panem in The Hunger Games trilogy 

Chances are that you've either read the books or you seen the movies. You know what I'm talking about.

Futuristic Chicago in the Divergent series

Same thing as The Hunger Games.  Would you really want to live in that dystopian society?

The bleak reality that people escape from in Ready Player One

Imagine a reality so dismal and bleak that most of civilization escapes into the virtual reality of the OASIS to do...  everything.

The unfortunate, real life world of human trafficking as depicted in Sold

As a woman, I realized after reading this book, how fortunate I have been on so many levels that I never truly considered before.

The dystopian, futuristic world of Fahrenheit 451

I honestly cannot imagine a world where war has been declared on books.

Yes, I know...  there are only 6.  That's the most I could come up with.  Do you have any suggestions?  Feel free to share!

Linking up with:

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Last book I read: 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Book I'm currently reading: 

Eat, Pray, Love Made Me Do It by Elizabeth Gilbert

On deck: 

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Linking up with La La in the Library:

My Happy List - What's Up Weekend Vol. 5

It's been one of those weeks.  

And when I say "one of those weeks," I assume you get the idea of what kind of week it's been.  It's been busy, demanding, somewhat emotional, and mentally taxing.    

So, I figured that a positive, upbeat post is in order to help me maintain perspective and to help me not get bogged down by all the negative things that I've dealt with.  Here are five things that made me happy this week:

1) On Wednesday, we had a retirement celebration after school for the speech pathologist who retired in October, the speech pathologist whom I replaced.  I know retiring  was a hard decision for her to make and that she misses it dearly, but I'm so very thankful she did retire.  Transferring to Simpsonville has been life changing for me.

2) On Thursday, I attended a second retirement celebration, but this one was at my former school, Heritage Elementary.  It was in  honor of the custodian and two teachers whom I had worked with my entire career up until I transferred in November.  

The celebration was almost like a mini reunion and not only did I see former coworkers who still work there, but also former coworkers who have retired in previous years.  For a few precious minutes that afternoon, as we talked, laughed, and reminisced about old times, it felt like being home.  I'm so thankful to have been a part of the Heritage story.

3) My grandpa celebrated his 86th birthday over the weekend.  This was an extra special milestone because earlier this month, he underwent quintuple heart bypass.  He's currently in a residential rehabilitation center and is, according to my mom, doing his therapy like a champ!

4) My roommate at work and I found out (officially) that we don't have to move rooms next year!  No packing for us!  Hallelujah!  

5) Today is the last day of school for kids and, after today, I only have one more workday left in my contract year.  I'm therapy-ed out, paperworked out, IEP-ed out, graphed out, talked out, and worn out.  I'm ready for a much needed break from being a speech pathologist.

I hope this finds you having a great Friday and may you have an even better weekend!  Before you leave, leave a comment and tell me something that made you happy this week.  

The Bean - Travel Photo Thursday

A portion of the Chicago skyline reflected in the stainless steel exterior of Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean"
Millennium Park - Chicago, IL


Previous posts on The Windy City:
Dragon Lights Lantern Festival
Six Tips for Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Chicago
48 Hours in Chicago
Under


Linking up with Budget Travelers Sandbox

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Character Names

• Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
• Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Go ahead say the line, I know you want to.  "My name is Inigo Montoya...)
• Four, the Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth - (A character so cool, that he only needs one name much like Sting, Madonna, Bono, and Prince)

• Merry Mansfield, Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
• Honey Santana, Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

• Willowdean "Dumplin'" Dickson, Dumpin' by Julie Murphy
• Clinton "Skink" Tyree, first introduced in Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

• Cinna, first seen in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Like Four above, Cinna's so cool, that he only needs one name.)
• Large Marge, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

What are some of the best character names you can think of?

Linking up with:

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.