FOUND finds Bloomington

Trash on the ground might not seem that interesting, but some think a man's garbage can give a glimpse at who they are. Ali Haimson, general coordinator of Boxcar Books, said that's why people love FOUND magazine, which publishes trash -- discarded letters, fliers, cards, doodles and more.\n"I think the appeal is that everybody kind of wants to know what other people are thinking about," Haimson said.\nFOUND magazine celebrities Davy and Peter Rothbart returned to Bloomington for their third visit, to share songs, new finds, tour favorites and live readings from Davy's new book, "The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas."\nAccording to the magazine's Web site, it collects "found" objects, including love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills and doodles -- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. In short, the magazine collects all the items you lost, forgot or threw away never to think about them again. \n"We decided to make a bunch of projects so that everyone can check out all the strange, hilarious and heartbreaking things people have picked up and passed our way," according to FOUND's Web site. \nThe tour aspect of the magazine has been going on for a few years. Davy and Peter, who are currently on a 56-city tour of United States, travel to places like Boxcar Books to perform for skits relating to the items in the magazine.\n"It gives us a chance to bully and harangue people to participate," Davy said.\nTheir Bloomington performance was in the back theater of the Bloomington Playwrights Project. Davy and Peter stood with microphones in front of them while audience members sat in rows of chairs. This was different from past performances, where audiences packed themselves among the books in the main part of the store.\n"They wanted to offer more space for people because of the impressive size of past groups at the shows," Haimson said.\nHaimson said she wanted FOUND to appear at her venue because the magazine has a magnetic attraction for her. \n"You realize people are all kind of the same. Some of (the entries are) funny, some of it's heartbreaking, but it shows that you aren't that different from someone from California or Europe," Haimson said.\nOverall, the show gave the Bloomington audience a chance to interact with Davy, Peter and FOUND magazine, and it brought people into Boxcar Books, a new and used bookstore offering a range of periodicals, magazines, and fiction and nonfiction books.\n"(This event) brings people in that may have not heard of Boxcar," said Haimson, one of Boxcar Book's founders. "Book events can be kind of boring, but this kind of event is really entertaining and shows people books can be fun."\nDavy said touring has really helped advertise the magazine and allowed people who did not know about their work before to send in finds after they saw the show. The event was really about the items found everyday, and gave tge audience a look into what people are thinking. \nDavy spoke specifically about the notes and letters collected for the magazine.\n"So many of these notes have such a range of emotions," he said. "They are so true to life"