Jim's Odds and Ends
(6 photos)
1527
While Jim lived in Flora, Indiana, in about 1945, he paid $10 for this baritone horn. It is brass, and a fancy engraved “ribbon-like” label says “Univirselle Exposition, de Paris, 1900.” Then below that it continues, “COUESNON & Cie. Fournisseurs de l’Armee , 94 Rue D’Angouleme, Paris, Chateau-Thierry,” with the number 24 in a circle.
There was a Universal Exposition (like a World’s Fair) in Paris in 1900. “Chateau-Thierry” is the name of the area where a famous, and very bloody, battle was fought in WW I, long after this horn was built. “Fournisseurs de l’Armee” means “COUESNON & Cie” was a supplier for the French Army.
1529
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1532,
In Odessa, Ukraine, there are plenty of sidewalk cafes, and a drink vendor offering drinks from what must have been a 500 gallon tank, mounted on a large trailer. There is a wide, several story-high staircase built by, or at least dedicated to Pushkin, a poet and author. A sign on a post, said in English, “Camping.” I used my Visa card to buy this telescope at the Intourist Store, and we stopped at an Intourist Hotel just to use the ancient restrooms.
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1557
My Sweetie bought this for me at Ghirardelli Square, in San Francisco.
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1610
Don’t remember just who bought this for me, but for many years I played (at least played at) tennis.
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1615
Do you remember the Christmas Fable, The Gift of the Magi, about the man who sold his heirloom watch so he could buy his wife a comb for her long, beautiful hair, then found she had sold her hair so she could buy a watch-fob for her husband’s wonderful watch. Well, this story isn’t a tear-jerker quite like that, but it’s the best we can do!
Our first Christmas, when money was in less supply than most times since, Emmy came home from Christmas shopping at what was called “Grand and Harlem” on Chicago’s West side, and discovered that a gift she had paid for, was missing. Just in case she had left it on the counter at the store, Emmy asked Jim to go and see if he could find it.
Jim had the presence of mind to have her describe the gift in great detail, the color, the size, the location in the store, the cost (forgotten long ago), and anything else he could think of. Of course when he got to the store there was no sign of paid-for-gloves, but fortified with a detailed description, Jim was able to determine there was another pair, that seemed to fit Emmy’s description.
Now, now, don’t get ahead of the story teller! But you are right. After Emmy agreed they were the right gloves, Jim said “Thank you for my early Christmas present.” And it was several years before Jim let her in on the secret, that he had bought another pair, based on the detailed description. How he could spend that much money, and not blow the budget, we don’t remember. Jim still has the gloves, but they are not likely to be worn often enough to wear out in our weather!
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