RE-Cycle: Bonus Features! or "Hidden treasures!"

Monday, November 14, 2011

Bonus Features! or "Hidden treasures!"

I can pretty much pin it down to an approximate date. It would have been roughly the fall of 1973. What red letter day in global history would that be, you ask? Well that's the day I developed an affinity for refuse. Oh yes. At the tender age of five my parents were visiting a family that resided at the end of Haige street, on rt 111A in Brentwood NH. The house looks a lot different now (I peaked on Google "Walking" maps (NEAT feature)) As they were socializing with the family that resided there (I have NO idea their name) I was left to my own vices and began to wander. Where now stands an enormous barn of a garage once stood an old garden shed. this was back when a kid of five COULD be left alone to explore) In the garden shed which once held tools for the estate, was instead a plethora of old office equipment. Big bulky things, from what i can recall, along with boxes upon boxes of old paper. The Gentleman of the house told me to feel free to help myself to all I could carry. Even at five I could carry ALOT when it came to "Free"! My parents, however reigned in my enthusiasm, wondering what i would do with it all, so my final catch was somewhat limited.
This passion grew, and as I got older I would spend my summers and weekends hanging out at the old junkyard a little ways past Pick pocket Road. There in exchange for salvage rights (left behind keys, auto medallions and the occasional keyboard, or McDonalds Fryalator Alarms (they were cool! Lot's of switches and lights) and at one time a wheelchair, I would strip copper from starters, alternators and radiators (wow..lots of 'ators!) It kept me out of trouble. See, this was back before a lot of paranoid parents started suing everyone under the sun, and all the fun things kids could do for free were outlawed due to hefty insurance premiums! But OH the joy I had climbing atop smashed cars stacked 4 high!
As I grew older I never seemed to loose the love for all things discarded and unwanted. Trust me, my steady stream of rolling wrecks for cars in my youth can attest to that! Just ask my Mom or the Exeter police Department about my '71 Ford Pinto! Three different colored body panels and one headlight! (the right one had a tendency to pop out when you hit a bump)
This attachment never left me, and in turn served well a few years back, when to supplement out dwindling income we would trash pick for scrap metal and anything we could fix up and sell at weekend yard sales. Made a good penny!
Which brings us full circle to what we do today! It is that desire to give the unwanted a second try (a trait which is all to apparent in my offspring, much to my chagrin as I have at times several TV's in my garage that Elijah SWEARS he can make work! Not to mention Owens "treasures" *shudder*) that drives us.
No truer then today!
(long segue)
Had finally got the 69 Schwinn cleaned up and was cleaning off the chain guard when I got a sweet bonus! As i was slowly removing the coats of crappy paint stuck to the metal i discovered the original graphics were still in relatively good shape! So with a little parts cleaner and elbow grease was able to bring most of it back. So masking it off gave it fresh coats of paint and clear coat. But that's not even the best part! Started digging around in some of my "What-Not" boxes to see if I had any cool baubles to dress it up with when I stumbled on an old time Bullet lamp. Well, we usually don't have much luck with the old bulbs, but thought I'd pop some batteries and test my luck. Lo and behold...it WORKED! But even better still...It also had an electric horn! WOW! So sweet! And I had NO idea I had it, nor where it came from. Oddly enough, the bike had a stem mount bracket on it that was the EXACT same counter bracket needed to mount it! What are the odds?! So this gem, no fully re-furbed and decked out in cast gray, with Dark Cherry accents comes complete with a color matched Light Horn!
I do so LOVE my job!
thanks to Laura for her diligence and tenacity. She finally came across the ride shes been looking for in the Raleigh 7-speed we put out Sunday.
And met a great lady as well today looking for a total of five for her family and states that she only wants to do business with us! I'm VERY flattered.
Oh yes, also managed to put out another "Daily Banger Special" as well. Nice looking men's 26" MTB.
All right, the family is giving me the stink eye, so I better get a move on!
Ya'll have a great night!