For senior Tim Lycurgus, his blue 1999 Lexus SUV is more than something that takes him from point A to B. It’s also a storage device that he lovingly calls “Waldo” and a place where he hangs out with his best friend senior Kevin Darchuk, who claims to be Waldo’s uncle.
Just to get a glimpse of the inside of his trunk, Lycurgus has to fold down the back seat of his car and crawl into the trunk to open it from the inside.
“My trunk broke after my friends and I put a couch in it and it didn’t fit all way,” said Lycurgus. “We had to tie it down. After we took it down the rope got caught on the trunk latch and when I yanked the rope the latch broke. My mom was mad.”
Inside his car is a collection of eclectic items, including a woman’s visor, glasses with the name “Soulja Boy” written on it, his mom’s sunhat, a compass from an orienteering course and a map of St. Louis.
Most of these items have some story behind them. Once such item is a toy foam sword that was used in the Ethnicity Ball League, a self-created league in which he and his friends play football in teams that are based on different countries.
“This sword is probably the most valuable thing in my car,” said Lycurgus. “It’s the silver sword because in Ethnicity Ball League we always have the battle for the sword, and the USSR won this from India. Most important thing.”
Although Lycurgus does have some unusual items in his car, there are some normal ones as well: umbrellas, a dog chew toy, softballs, a folding chair, two hairbrushes, clothes, a very old Dr. Pepper bottle, a hair clip, old lunch.
On the floor and in various bags, Waldo also carries a tie-dye bucket hat which was ruined from spilled drinks. There is a bent Chopin piano music book, although Lycurgus no longer plays the instrument.
While rummaging through his car, Lycurgus discovered a transistor radio that he had forgotten about.
“My 85-year-old neighbor gave it to me,” Lycurgus said. “I was going to give it away at Goodwill but I forgot I had it. I love Waldo. I am Waldo personified. We are the same person.”