The Value of Things

A few years ago, I heard a rumor that my grandparents’ former home was set to be demolished due to ill repairs. I found myself driving by there after work one afternoon and sure enough, the exterior doors and windows were removed. Plus, there was an excavator sitting in the yard ready for action. I got out of the car and talked to the owner of the house and with his permission, I walked through  just to have one last look around. After my initial disgust in the condition the house was left in, I found myself reminded of so many happy childhood memories. For some reason I cannot quite explain now, I took my pocket knife out and used it as a screwdriver to remove a doorknob and then I left. A few days later I drove back by and sort of stared at the rubble that was left after the demolition. A tinge of sadness hit me, but I can honestly say I was more at peace than anything.

It is not at all that I was happy to see the house torn down, but more that I am thankful that I got to share so many cherished childhood memories inside that old house. My grandparents have long since passed and all of us cousins have grown and settled into our own lives. As different as we all are, we have the memories and a bond of love that our grandparents gave to us. The house was no longer a home; we took what we needed from it and all of us can testify to how blessed we are to have had such a great childhood.

Recently, I was in my garage and looked over at my workbench and there sat the old doorknob that I felt compelled to take. Maybe someday I will have a door that is in dire need of a doorknob, but I guess until then it will just sit there collecting dust. A stranger would come along and look at it wondering why it was not discarded or thrown away. Why would anyone want a useless piece of metal that serves absolutely no purpose? Somethings are just worth more to people than they are to others. Museums are filled with artifacts that could seem like junk at first glance, but ultimately, they serve as a reminder of an important part of history or an embodiment of a unique perspective.

The former owner of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay, was a man who found great sentimental value in obscure items like my old doorknob. Although, his collection was arguably way cooler and full of more popular items than my old doorknob. Maybe I should have reached out to him and see if he was interested in it. Anyway, before he passed away, Mr. Irsay amassed a collection of musical instruments owned by some of the most influential artists of all time in addition to rare books, presidential and political memorabilia, and items once owned and used by the most iconic athletes you could think of. Within this collection, there is a scroll of paper that measures 120 foot long when unraveled and contains some 320 individual pieces of paper taped together. This scroll is the original manuscript for the novel On the Road written by Jack Kerouac. It seems Kerouac had the novel idea (novel idea, get it?) to tape all his paper together so it would be a continual reem as it fed through his typewriter.

The result was a copy of On the Road that looks just as it is described. A big, ugly roll of paper with a lot of words. It sincerely looks like something that should have been thrown away or used to start a campfire at the very least. Mr. Irsay would have been the first one to tell you how wrong I am because that scroll of paper represents something so much bigger. As it turns out, On the Road became an iconic novel that inspired a generation of people and has served as a muse for many notable artists like Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, Nick Nolte, and Sissy Spacek just to name a few. Suffice to say the book still has a lasting impact and after nearly 70 years of being in print, it still sells an estimated 100,000 copies a year.

Sadly, Mr. Irsay passed away in 2025, and it has recently been announced that his massive collection that he generously shared with others will soon be separated and auctioned off. This is not an indictment on his family, but apparently, they value the monetary worth of the collection over the sentimental value. Nobody could really argue the practicality in the decision. The value of an item can really just come down to a matter of what it means to the person who has it versus the person who wants it. That old doorknob that I liberated is worth nothing more than its weight in scrap material, but I am not sure how I would assign a price to part with it. I guess if you need a doorknob, just make me an offer.

As for the Jim Irsay collection, it will soon be hitting the auction block through Christies. If you happen to have a couple of hundred thousand dollars lying around, you could maybe buy Muhammed Ali’s gloves or Wilson the volleyball from the movie Castaway. If you happen to have a couple of million dollars to spend, you could buy a drum kit formerly owned by Ringo Starr or perhaps the saddle Secretariat wore as he won the triple crown. The highest estimated item that will be auctioned off in the Irsay collection is the manuscript scroll for On the Road by Jack Kerouac. It is estimated to bring in upwards of four million dollars. It would be much more fiscally responsible to come see us at the Westville Public Library though because we can check you out a copy for free, and I guarantee it will be in a format easier to read than in the form of a scroll.