Treasures in the Basement

Treasures in the Basement

When my Mom, daughter, cousin and I arrived in Rhode Island for a visit, we went straight to my Aunt the Uncle’s house. Rhode Island may be a small state but we managed to get lost there on several occasions. With the help of my cousin, we were able to follow him to the house.

The house looked tiny compared to the other homes that surrounded it. Many of the larger three-story houses, which used to accommodate one family, are now divided into apartments. This was the place that my Grandparents built and my Mother was born in. We were greeted by my Aunt and Uncle and after the hugs, we all went inside. After spending a day in Newport, Rhode Island, another in Boston, and another at a family BBQ, my cousin asked if we could check out the basement. Our Uncle thought it was a strange request, but took us down there anyway. I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity to see what was hidden in the dark basement below.

The first thing you notice is the steep narrow brick stairs leading down to the basement. When you hit the bottom of the stairs and look out on the basement, you notice all the many possessions hanging on the walls or from the ceiling beams. There are tools, an old grinder, and many other belongings that were used by my Uncles and Grandpa. In one corner sat the washer and dryer, and another had cement steps leading up to the outside door.

We explored all the shelves and found many old rustic items and objects handmade by my Uncles and Grandpa. I found a group of old keys, most of which were rusty skeleton keys. My Uncle told me that Grandpa used to carry those keys around with him everywhere he went. I wanted the keys to have a little piece of him. Those keys along with two original doorknobs and several others items that were my Grandparents’ ended up going home with me. The one item I wish I could have taken was the red wagon that was my Mother’s. She took it down the street to the market many times for her parents. I wanted to bring that wagon home for her but it wouldn’t fit in my luggage. This basement may look like many others, but held lots of treasures for me and memories for my Mom.

When Sharon (Autumnforest, Ghost Hunting Theories) and I stayed the night at the San Carlos a few weeks ago, I brought the keys to see what kind of reading she would get from them. As she felt the keys, she got a sense that more than one person touched these keys. But there was that one key she was able to get a strong reading about one man, my Grandpa. From all the stories I heard about my Grandpa, she was 100% correct on what she felt. I got chills and told my Mom about it. She agreed that the information about her father was correct. That was a cool experience for me. I felt like she brought me closer to my Grandpa.