Story #8: High-Priced Catalog Spenders

This was a mystery locker full of trash bags and boxes in a modest neighborhood of New Jersey. The price was right, and the size was manageable — an easy job, I thought. But as I began to sort through the bags, a clearer picture emerged. The owners had been an older couple, drawn to the small luxuries of catalog life. The locker was filled with glossy magazines and receipts from places like Swiss Colony, Ginny’s, and Tender Heart Treasures — the kind of stores that promise beauty by mail, one trinket at a time.

There were decorative lamps, embroidered throw blankets, retro microwaves, and fans made to look like antiques — each one an imitation of something elegant and timeless. Yet most of it was brand-new and never used. It was as if they had been building a dream version of their home through things, chasing the comfort of a catalog photograph.

As I unpacked it all, I realized how deeply human that impulse is — to seek beauty, even in imitation. We all want a bit of grace in our lives, something that makes the ordinary feel special. These objects weren’t mistakes; they were attempts to hold onto that feeling. The tragedy wasn’t in the buying — it was in the storing away, as if beauty had to wait for a better day to be enjoyed.