Chuck became an orphan and was left only with an old house. Right before he decided to sell it, he found a hidden room that changed everything.
Chuck Harris and his parents lived in the oldest house in his neighborhood. The house was spacious but precarious. Chuck’s dad never wanted to sell or build a new one because “It’s part of our family,” as he said.
Several generations of his family lived there, so the same way he was born and raised in the old mansion, he wanted Chuck and his grandkids to live there too.
If the neighbors demolished their houses and built new ones, it was because, after so many repairs and restorations, it would become easier and maybe even cheaper to simply build a new house. But Chuck’s father didn’t think like that. The man was stubborn and attached to the place.
When Chuck was 12 years old and had enough of bullies because of the old house, he turned to his father and said, “Dad, why don’t we move to a new house? I mean, you spend so much time and money trying to fix this house but doesn’t it make more sense to just move to a new place?” The boy continued, “Besides, the other kids would stop mocking me…”
“Listen, Chuck,” replied the man, “don’t listen to what other people have to say. They have their lives, and we have ours. We all have problems, and this house means so much to our family. If someone disrespects you, tell them to mind their business.”
“Also, when you grow up, I’d like you to keep this house and continue to pass it on to your kids, alright?” Chuck nodded his head in agreement. He knew his father was a stubborn old man, but he had a good heart. So Chuck kept his promise.
When he turned 22, his father died in a car accident. His mother could only hold the pain for so long. Few months after his father passed away, his mother developed heart disease. Something that would kill her six months later.
Chuck was devastated. He didn’t have anyone else. He grieved for a few months, and at times, he considered selling the house. But that was actually the last thing he wanted to do so. Instead, he decided to focus on his work and didn’t think about anything else.
He worked as a carpenter at the time, so the work helped distract him and allowed him to move on. Chuck functioned well for a few years like that. He was so focused at work that he didn’t even notice how screwed up his house was.
But at some point, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Things got worse when the neighbors’ children would mock him or a girl he was dating ghosted him after seeing his house.
“Alright, that’s enough!” he thought. “I”m sorry, dad, but I’m done with this piece of crap. I’ve got to sell this house.”
But Chuck quickly changed his mind when he made an inquiry around the house and noticed how much money he needed to spend with repairs before trying to attempt to sell it.
“I don’t have money to demolish and build a new house, and I can’t afford to sell it,” shared Chuck with his best friend.
“It seems to me there’s only one solution, dude. You’ll need to slowly repair the house until you get into a ‘liveable and sellable’ point.”
Chuck looked at him and said, “You’re right. I’ve got to do something and stop complaining.”
So Chuck began renovating his home. One day, one of the beams fell to the ground floor, so Chuck had to change the floor in that room. When he tore down the old boards, he accidentally saw a wooden door under them. “Oh no, there must be a mice family living here all of these years,” said the man to himself.
Chuck was surprised because he’d never seen it before. He knew every part, every corner of this house. “But actually, I don’t,” he told himself.
“OK, let’s see what’s inside,” he said while opening the door. He saw a ladder leading to a small basement room. It looked as if they’d been there for 100 years.
Chuck saw several tables with drawers and lots of rags. He took one of them and a ring fell out of it. He picked it up and was surprised. It was a big gold ring. “Well, let’s check what else the Harrises have left here for me.” He searched the entire room and found many more pieces of jewelry.
“It seems that grandpa working as a goldsmith wasn’t a legend after all.” The young man found not only valuable pieces of jewelry but several jewelry tools of the time as well.
Chuck sold everything he found to a local collector who had his own museum. He got really good money from the proceeds, and even though he was tempted to restore the house and sell it, he decided to do a large-scale restoration and keep it.
It looked very cool, although it did not spoil its vintage. “Man, this house looks amazing! I feel like I’m in a museum!” said his best friend when he came for a visit. “This is it! I’ve got an idea…” Chuck’s idea was to open his house as a real museum.
The news spread fast, and he quickly got many visitors. Excursionists from outside town would often come to his house. People would take photographs against the backdrop of one of the city’s oldest buildings, and Chuck would watch them from his window. “I know I did the right thing,” he thought to himself.
And as fate would have it, during one of the tours, he met a girl named Jenny, who came from a nearby town. After a while, they began dating, and soon, they were living together in Chuck’s family home.
What can we learn from this story?
Respect your roots and heritage. Chuck was often tempted to get rid of the old house, but he knew he should stick with the promise he made to his father. After a dark period, he turned the house into a cool museum and met his girlfriend.
No matter what other people say, live your truth. Chuck’s father taught him to live his own life regardless of what people say or think of him.
