Other people's trash is Found Magazine's treasure.
Davy Rothbart, creator of the magazine, shared his treasure trove of other people's lost notes, writings and letters Wednesday night at the Guild to an audience of about 130.
Rothbart came to the stage, beer in hand, bling-bling around his neck and opened a green briefcase full of lost papers - papers that would entertain the audience for an hour and a half.
Papers such as a simple to-do list:
"E-mail Cory, remember you're into lesbians, try and convince self you're not madly in love with him."
Or a relationship note:
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"I love you, but things haven't been the same since we found out we're related."
Rothbart's favorite:
"I took some hos to get some burritos."
Orphaned photos, school assignments and first pages of longer letters found their way into the magazine through strangers from all over.
Rothbart and his brother are touring 136 cities as part of their Slapdance Across America tour. His brother Peter, who usually plays songs inspired by findings in the magazine, was not at the Guild Wednesday.
Rothbart said New Mexico was where Found started, because he was living in Taos when he got the idea.
"I think of this as the birthplace of Found," he said. "I get a lot from New Mexico. It's fertile ground for Found Magazine."
Rothbart said he has collected things since he was little, but loses more than he finds.
"When I was a kid, I used to walk across the train tracks and pick up stuff - trash really," he said. "But it's amazing how powerful you get the sense of somebody from their love letters."
People have latched onto his idea. Most of the letters printed in the magazine are sent in by other people. Rothbart said he probably personally adds two pieces to the magazine, and the rest is sent to him.
As part of his performance, he invited four members of the audience to come up and share their findings.
Adam, a high school student, had a secret admirer letter he found at his school. It was a note to a Marco, complete with phone number. During the presentation, Rothbart took it upon himself to call the number. A man on the other line answered. It went something like this:
Rothbart: "This is Marco."
Silence.
Rothbart: "Are there any girls living at your house? I have a secret admirer note from someone at this number."
Man: "My daughter's here. She's 11."
Audience: Laughter.
Rothbart: "She's 11? That's out of balance."
Mike Smith, from Las Cruces, brought in a box of letters from about 27 different women to a salesman he called "sleazy."
The box of letters intrigued much of the audience. Its finder plans on writing a book based on the letters.
Rothbart spoke with members of the audience after the show, collecting items they found and the stories behind their finds.
He said during his tour he has met people who have sent in stuff and had them autograph his magazine.
At every state he visits, he crosses out one star from the 50 stars on his red, white and blue shoes.
Even though his magazine is a collection of what some people might call trash, it's popular, he said, because people are interested in other people's experiences of being human.
"We are all curious about the other people we share the world with," he said.
