Sunday, April 27, 2008

• Back Then I Wasn't Old.

  My God I feel old.

  There are numerous reasons for this and all of them are beyond my control.My back always aches, a hangover from my years as an Antique furniture dealer. My foot causes me constant pain as a result of the accident and as a result I walk with a cane.Despite the success of  "House" I find walking with a cane makes people think of nothing but old age.

  Not exactly a pretty picture. I remember when I had muscles of steel and sex appeal. Now I just have the sex appeal.

  I took my Cuddlebug to an Antique Market today. It was an interesting experience. I used to go to this market when I was first getting set up in the business.Back then I had a hard time deciding what to buy... there was just so much great stuff to choose from.Today I went through the entire market and didn't find anything I would have bought for my store.

  Back then they called me the kid , today they called me sir. Back then I soaked up the knowledge of the Dealers like a sponge. I asked questions, learned from them all that I could, and then put that knowledge to use to ensure that I wouldn't be embarassed by any customer.I used that knowledge to buy well . I can sell, I can sell sawdust to a beaver, I just have the personality for it, the sense of humour needed to get folks on my side so that they WANTED to buy from me.Back then it didn't matter how good you were at selling ,  you had to know your stuff.

  Back then the Dealers took pride in being Dealers, took pride in their wares, took pride in offering stuff that couldn't be found anywhere else.

  Today I had to educate a few dealers about their own stock.When I asked them about it they improvised with such shit that it was embarassing.They obviously knew nothing, had done no homework, had asked no one the right questions. Back then they wouldn't have been allowed to sell their stuff at this market.

  Cuddlebug loved today, she asked me questions and we had a blast checking out all the stuff.There was some interesting things there, I don't mean to give the wrong impression, but I hate the term "collectible", and in my mind if it isn't one hundred years old it isn't an antique.Back then Dealers would beat you up if you tried to pawn off something as an antique that wasn't one hundred years old. Today finding something that old was a rarity.

  So why do I feel old? Because I just realized that I started almost every sentence with the term "back then". And I never would have done that if I wasn't old.

  I turn 49 in May.

  • 8:55 PM
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