FENCES HEIGHTEN my curiosity. It is the unknown, the wondering what lies behind the barrier, the sense of mystery that intrigues me.
Yes, I read Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys growing up with mysteries still my preferred genre.
In the above image, solid panels block the view of junked vehicles at Hubers Auto Parts west of Faribault.
Junkyards, as they were once commonly called, aren’t particularly pretty places. Heck, they aren’t really pretty at all unless you view the contents therein as art or in the context of recycling.
Through the years, these places have attempted to change their bad boy image. Auto parts sounds so much nicer than junkyard, although junkyard possesses a certain romantic ring.
A scene from another Faribault area “junkyard.” Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2009.
Still, even words cannot diminish the visuals of crushed cars, cracked windshields, smashed doors and the reality that many of these vehicles arrived here with some tragic story.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Every car has a story, doesn’t it? And most of those are probably not happy ending types of stories.
Not the ones in junkyards, aka salvage yards.
Nice Plymouth coupe! Looks like it could be restored quite easily. How could you pass it up?
Ah, you do know your cars, don’t you, Allan? How could I pass it up? Easy. Money.
Good to hear from you again.
I like junkyards. They are fun to walk through and you never know what you are going to find. For instance, while walking through one junkyard, I found a cool leather no smoking symbol. I took out my knife, cut it from the car and now I have a cool leather bookmark for my reading.
I’ve only meandered through junkyards twice. I find them a bit unsettling, yet interesting enough that will venture therein.
Your find sounds unique and hopefully you sought permission before cutting out the leather piece.
If the cars could only talk what stories would they tell us! Think about all the drive-in movie theaters and and drive-up eateries they’ve been too! Yep, they’d say they’ve have a great life I bet…or until they ended up in junk yard!
I agree. What stories are tucked inside these junked vehicles.
The perfect prompt for a horror story!
I think you’re right.
Yes, when I see a junk yard and look around at all the items, I always wonder what the history has been and what has caused the items to end up in this final resting place xx
It’s the writer in us, Charlie, wanting to hear the stories.
The junk yard. I visited more than a few with my teen last summer as we searched for used VW parts or parts that would work, and a homeless man that had taken up residence in one of the cars rolled out to serenade me with “You are my sunshine.” I’m not sure I’ll be a frequent shopper but I had fun and my son lucked into an Old Bug (rare in these parts) with a few parts that would work.
Good to hear you had a successful junkyard search. And then, bonus, to be serenaded.
One of my favorite things to do in an airport is to make up stories about the people I see. I keep my thoughts to myself, though! But stories about cars would also be fun!
You are definitely meant to be a writer of fiction, my friend.
🙂