Where Aren't They Now: 39

Joe's in a phase where he's really into, like, old junk. Not antiques, nothing as lame as that. Old junk.

It started with a turntable that his father was going to sell at a garage sale. His father's records were long gone but Joe had a pretty easy time finding ones he liked online and at thrift shops. When he heard how cool the records sounded on the old machine, he decided to see what else his dad had lying around.

Now Joe's collection has stuff like a Walk-Man, a kickin' compass with a picture of a topless chick inside it, an empty snuff box and a binder of yellowed baseball cards. He loves the way old stuff is made better, and sounds different, and even smells like things he's never smelled before. He's totally going to build his collection-- this is just the start.

Where Aren't They Now: 38

Kurt believes that some people have soul mates.

He met a girl once who for a while Kurt believed was his soul mate. It was just a feeling he had, after spending every day with her for two weeks. It wasn't that they had a lot in common or that their views aligned; it was simply how he felt around her.

But she left. She was transferred to another high school, and there was no way for him to go with her. In Kurt's limited belief system he maintains that nothing can come between soul mates, and since distance quickly and ultimately came between them, he must not have found his match after all.

Where Aren't They Now: 37

Darby is so picky an eater that he has erroneously been hospitalized for anorexia before.

He likes his popcorn stale and his orange slices completely free of rind. He dislikes anything that looks like, smells like, or reminds him of potatoes. No food can touch any other food and if he even imagines them mingling in his stomach, Darby has to breathe deeply into a paper bag. He will not eat anything that had a fin or could make a shadow puppet. He just flat out hates ketchup.

His stay at the hospital made things even worse. Once he'd been fed intravenously there was no going back.

Where Aren't They Now: 36

Cath could do any puzzle, no matter the amount of pieces, in minutes. This was not nearly as useful a skill as she had hoped it would be.

Quickly solving a Rubik's cube is a great party trick. Being a Boggle master or an anagram whiz can even get you set up as a code cracker for the CIA. Solving puzzles rarely comes up, has never proven useful for Cath, and basically just alienates anyone who might have wanted to solve the puzzle in the first place.

Where Aren't They Now: 35

Tam's favorite article of clothing is her pair of "paint pants." She has worn the same pair of jeans to every stage crew meeting she has attended since 9th grade.

Much of the paint was accidental-- there's no way to completely avoid getting paint on yourself when you're as involved in stage crew as Tam is-- but over the years a few of her friends have left their marks. There are hand prints, quick cartoons, and layers of colorful and contradictory (Name) ♥'s (Name).

This year Tam will wear her paint pants in her first home. High school is far behind her and most of the names on her legs are people she no longer speaks to. Still she wears her memories... and accidentally splatters new ones from time to time.

Where Aren't They Now: 34

Andy has one dozen memories of his father, but one is clearer than the rest.

His father worked construction, though Andy couldn't tell you exactly what his job was. One evening, his father brought him home and heavy rock that looked just like any other you'd see after breaking up the ground for a new foundation. Andy stared at the rock, then at his father who beckoned him to come outside.

Andy watched as his father set the rock down on the ground, then fetched a sledgehammer from their shed. He motioned for Andy to scoot back, then he raised the hammer over his head and brought it down on the rock. He returned the hammer to the shed, tousled Andy's hair, and walked back inside the house.

When Andy approached the rock he saw that it was twinkling. He picked up a shard and marveled at what he would later learn was a geode.

Andy no longer has the pieces of the glittering rock, and regrets losing them.

Where Aren't They Now: 33

Jackie mends.

She has noticed that people don't fix things anymore. It's too easy to buy, to replace.

Jackie set up a service where she mends things for free. You can stop by her home or mail her an item (if you're willing to pay for shipping), and she will mend it as best as she can. Most of her requests are about buttons that have popped off, but Jackie also darns socks, hems pants, fixes rogue stitches. She even fixed a table once, with mixed results-- it's not exactly level, but it has a few more years in it now.

She loves her work with small repairs, and hopes she is keeping items out of garbage cans and landfills. While she does not charge for her mending service, she makes a bit of money teaching a one-time seminar on these small home ec-like chores. A few more people show up each time she offers.