Monday, July 11, 2022

Yay!

 Actual conversation from a marriage: 

"I'm going to walk to the Goodwill. The walk will be good exercise. It will also guarantee that I won't buy anything that I cannot carry. I won't spend more than $20." 

5 minutes after hitting Goodwill, I called Tim. "Hey. I'm going to need you to pick me up. Drive the truck."


Price $24.99. 

I stood in front of it, trying to talk myself out of it. A woman stopped and studied it as well. She opened the glass doors. 

I took a deep breath and said to myself, "Self, this is not a tractor, for pete's sake. Get in line."

There was a pretty long line, and I waited for some time. I watched people stopping to examine that clock. As I waited, it struck me (see what I did there?) 'Were the hands moving?'  I asked an employee, "Does that clock work, do you know?" She said that she didn't know, that it came in about an hour before they closed the previous night. She also said, "There's been a lot of interest in it. We've had seven people asking about it today. Most of them needed to see if they could arrange transportation for it." I took a deep breath and left the line. The last darn thing that I needed to drag home was another clock that had to be fixed. I studied hands on the clock. They were moving. 

At that point, an elderly man stopped. He stepped in front of me and began examining the clock. His wife was looking at clothing. He said, matter of factly, "We're getting this clock," to her. She told him that she wanted to look around a little more. 

That did it for me. I went back to stand in line, which was even longer than it had been before. The elderly man continued to study the clock, hovering near it in a proprietory way, keeping an eye on his wife. Then he saw me in line. Quick as a wink, he darted to the counter and said, "I'm buying that clock," to the cashier. 

My heart dropped. 

Bless her heart! She scanned the line quickly and saw me standing there. "Did you decide to take the clock?" I swear I could have kissed her! but I said in a very calm voice, "Yes. I did. Thank you." She turned to the man and said, "I'm sorry. It's sold." 

I continued to wait in line. 

The phone rang and the manager came up to answer it for the busy cashiers. "The clock?" she said, and the cashier said, "She's waiting to buy it," gesturing at me. "I'm sorry," the manager said. "The clock is gone." She listened. "Yes," she said. "It did attract quite a bit of attention." 

One of the employees came up with the dolly to help me load it. I removed the pendulum. He wondered if we should remove the weights. I explained that it was a reproduction, that the clock itself was keywound not weight driven, so the weights were decorative, not heavy like a real weight driven clock would be. A couple people stopped to listen. I told the employee that he could just wheel it to the sidewalk, that I'd just wait for my husband and the truck, but I no sooner got the words from my mouth, than our truck pulled up. Perfect timing. 

Do you know that elderly man actually followed us out the door? He stood watching as we loaded it. I had the feeling he wanted to say something, but he did not. 

Late Edit: I got it home and cleaned up and slid into the place it belonged. Much to my surprise, Tim said, "Let's go back to Goodwill and see what else is there." What kind of a woman turns THAT down? Not this one, that's for sure. I did find three smallish things. While I was waiting in line, Tim suddenly let out a loud laugh. "What's so funny?" I asked. He said, "The woman in front of us just told the cashier they'd returned to buy the grandfather clock."





36 comments:

  1. We had one a few years back and gave it to someone. My parents had what was called a rail road clock, I don't know why. It struck the hours and half hour. It was very old and was in the bedroom. It was a key wind once a week. They never had an alarm clock but always woke up early to start milking when we had the dairy. My daughter has the clock now. It is over 80 years old.

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    1. A railroad clock was a precision clock, because railroads needed to be on very tight schedules not only for passenger purposes, but to avoid collisions. The clocks don't chime, they are not decorative, they are simply designed to keep good time. The clocks were what the railroad workers set their own watches by. That's very cool that you had one. My oldest clock is from the civil war era.

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  2. A good tale, and it seems you are doing so well in preparation for your downsizing.

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    1. Now Andrew...don't guilt me, man. I agonized over that purchase but ultimately succumbed to my basest instincts.

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  3. I've always wanted to make one of those but we just don't have a very good spot anywhere in the house for one. That nook seems perfect for your new clock.

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    1. i always knew that I wanted a clock there.

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  4. If you write short stories there is a perfect one here.

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    1. It has tension and drama, a villain (old guy) and a good guy (casher), lust too powerful to be resisted...yep.

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  5. Replies
    1. And yet I did not break out in song "we are the champions, we are the champions, there's no time for looooosers, 'cause we are the champions of the world!!!!" It would have entertained the folks in line to be sure.

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  6. What a fun story! Hope you get many good years out of old grandfather clock. Maybe not so old, but who's doing the math. Looks like you found the perfect spot. Enjoy!
    Paranormal John

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    1. I can't find a maker on it, so I imagine that it's not old at all, but it is pretty and it fits that space. Bonus? It keeps perfect time!

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  7. Congratulations!! -Kelly

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    1. I'm quite pleased. It sits in the front hall. The last picture was taken from the stairwell. It's such a nice clock with a polite chime, not loud and bonging. If you're going to have a clock just down the hall from your bedroom door, this is the one to have.

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  8. Replies
    1. Yes. Not wasted money...like a tractor or something. :D

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  9. Wow! It's a great looking clock and you must be especially pleased given all the competition. (As you said, bless that cashier!)

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    1. You know, I don't even know what I would have done if she had simply told the man that it was his. I keep wondering if I would have spoken up to say, "Hey. No fair!" I think that I would have. Later, I went back and said, "You know, I could have kissed you for that!" She laughed like crazy. She said, "I'm not that way!" I said, "Neither am I, but I REALLY wanted that clock..."

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  10. What a story! Such drama at the local Goodwill! Sounds like you may have needed a police escort to be able to claim the clock. Be nice: it may be a better idea than a tractor, but it was one of those truck purchases that got it home! Linda in Kansas

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    1. Oh, I'm not upset about the tractor OR the truck. It is how I justify my expenditures. It could be a movie "Show Down at the Goodwill"

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  11. That was good timing, Debby! (see what I did there?!)
    Could have been a fight at the Goodwill!! Glad you like your new clock!

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    1. I have to hand it to you Ellen (see what I did there?)...I have to say, I've never seen that kind of behavior at a Goodwill before, however, perhaps it is more common than I would think, given the way that the cashier handled it.

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  12. Same theme, different subject. I was helping a fellow weaver at a show. A rug weaver. There was a very expensive rug hanging and a woman trying to persuade her husband, by phone, to let her buy it. Another woman tapped me on the shoulder and said she would like to buy the rug. She had cash in hand. I took down the rug and wrapped it. The telephone woman turned, saw it and began protesting "I'm buying that!" My customer said "I bought it!" and walked away with her prize.

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    1. The whole concept of 'letting her buy it' is so strange to me. Tim and I discuss purchases, but if I truly wanted something (or he truly wanted something) the question would be 'can we afford this?' not "Will you let me buy this?"

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  13. I would love to know what the old man wanted to say to you. And I do wish you had burst into song.

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    1. He just seemed to be a person who is accustomed to getting his own way, and I think that he was a little miffed that this did not work out according to his plan. It was very odd to have him right there as we were loading it, because the drop-off bins were right there, and he had to actually squeeze between them and the employee to get behind us. He hovered and said not a word.

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  14. Sounds like you got a real bargain whatever the clock's age. I wasn't so lucky when waiting to buy a gold necklace I wanted a number of years ago in an unusual close-out sale at a bank of a jewelry store's items. A woman was looking at several including the one I wanted. She asked the clerk (a bank employee) if she would hold the three or more she was pointing out she was interested in as she had to go home to get some more money. The clerk hesitated, then said, "Yes." The clerk told me later she realized she shouldn't have agreed to do that though the woman had returned as she said she would. Oh, well.

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    1. It was a nice find, Joared. I've never been a jewelry person, but I do understand on missing out on something you really wanted. This cashier was so matter of fact and efficient about nipping that scenario in the bud that I think they probably deal with it a lot more than I knew. Furniture is always going to be my weakness, followed closely by books.

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  15. I have a similar story, but ended up with something I didn't want and now can't get rid of. I saw a roll-top desk, imitation not genuine antique and mentioned to my ex that I'd seen it and used to want one when I was younger. I should have kept my mouth shut. He turned up with it the very next day and I had to juggle furniture around to fit it into a corner. it's become a dumping ground for mail and stuff.

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    1. I did that once with a four piece set of roccoco leather furniture. Af first glance it looked fine. It was about an hour's drive from us, and Tim got excited to see it. We drove back. After we got there, I noticed that there was quite a bit of cosmetic issues. I no longer wanted it, and was trying to tell my husband, who was in fierce negotiations with the seller. We came home with something I changed my mind about.

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  16. That's a beautiful clock. Your goodwill has way better prices than ours. I was there on the weekend and wanted some new drinking glasses. $4.50 a glass! I did find some for $.25 and bought those instead.

    My mum would have loved that clock. She always wanted a grandfather clock. I don't know why she never bought herself one.

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    1. $4.50 a glass???!!!! I've never priced glassware there. We have a perfectly serviceable set we've had for a lot of years. I cannot even conceive of such a price. I'll have to take a look at the prices on our glasses.

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  17. I loved reading about the clock purchase!

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    1. I love that it's sitting in the front hall right this very minute!

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