She said, "I wondered who bought those tables and left the glass behind." I was speechless for a few seconds. Finally I said, "You mean the glass was there all along?" She told me that the last time she took a look around the larger of the two back yard sheds, the glass was propped against the wall.
For a minute, I allowed my hopes to rise. I asked her who we could contact to see about getting into the shed. She couldn't find the number of the woman who had the key and couldn't remember her name, so that was a dead end.
She told me that the last time she drove by the house not long ago, it was still vacant, so she suggested that I stop by the house, tell the neighbor next door what the situation was, so at least one of the neighbors would know what was up if the police were called because I was poking around in the back yard.
I drove by the house late that night, to see if it still looked vacant. Everything was dark, but there were two cars in the carport. I told myself it might just be neighbors parking there to make would-be burglars think it was occupied...or so I hoped.
When I went to the house the next day, no one was home, but I could see plants in the front window and a dog in the back yard. Not good. No one was home at the neighbor's house either. Darn! I left a long note to the current occupant, explaining my plight and coming dangerously close to begging for the glass, although I did manage to salvage a little pride by saying I'd make them an offer if they didn't want to just hand it over...hoping that made me sound like such a nice person they'd call and say, "Why, sure...come right over and get it. It's rightfully yours."
I was prepared to pay $50...oh, hell, $100...for the glass, because I know it would cost much more than that to have some cut, and having the original is so much better anyway, not to mention how much nicer it would be to have only my daughter's original $8 invested in the whole deal.
This is what the tables would look like if they had glass. See why we don't want to have to get it cut?
 |
| 1stdibs.com |
 |
| adrianpearsall.com (Too bad about the grainy 50s photo on the Pearsall site, but you get the idea. This is the only picture of the table I've ever run across in all my searching.) |
My son-in-law stopped by later that afternoon, and a disheveled 40-something guy came to the door. He complained that my SIL woke him up, said he'd found my note and that he'd look in the shed if he got around to it and call us if he felt like it. Then he said he was tired and was going back to bed and slammed the door. Does the phrase "slim and none" sound like it might describe our chances of getting the glass?
Several days have passed since my SIL's encounter with Mr. Charming, and we still haven't heard from him. Maybe our lucky streak just ended.
Several days have passed since my SIL's encounter with Mr. Charming, and we still haven't heard from him. Maybe our lucky streak just ended.
Still, it couldn't hurt for all of you to cross your fingers and send out some positive vibes. Maybe the guy will miraculously have a change of heart...or sober up and realize I offered to pay him for the glass.
Oh gee... Heartache!
ReplyDeleteAnd there's just *something* about owning the original, too. What a disappointment!
I can only relate it to a much smaller incident, when I found a 50's rocket shaped chrome Dormey hand mixer, with ONE beater at a thrift. I spent the next hour searching for that missing beater, because I was sure it was somewhere... Nope.
Same with my 50's beehive chrome shaped blender. Another thrift store. Another hour digging through bins of cheap plastic cups and junk, looking for the lid. Nope. =(
Offer to go get the glass tops yourself. Tell the gentleman he may escort you to make sure that's all you got. It can't hurt, can it??
Oh, I'm definitely going back to try to catch him in a better mood. Maybe I can sweet talk him better than my SIL. :) Or maybe I'll catch a wife at home, and she will be nicer. If all else fails, I'll contact the owner, who is still alive but has moved into assisted living with his wife because she has dementia. If I offer him the money, I bet he'll see to it that I get to look in the shed. I have just begun to fight.
ReplyDeleteI'll cross my fingers and hope for you!! Maybe a little gift wouldn't hurt? Some home made muffins for his time? Case of beer perhaps?
ReplyDeleteoh what a grumpy pants he was! i still have hope that these will turn up, fingers crossed for you!
ReplyDelete@Tanya: I'm thinking the case of beer is the key to this guy's heart. :) Then maybe I could drive around the block a few times and catch him at the happy stage of drinking, right before he slips into surly mode.
ReplyDelete@stacey: I think it was more drunky pants...LOL But keep the fingers crossed. Maybe he'll have some sort of epiphany.
ReplyDeleteOh Dana, good luck!
ReplyDeleteI have everything crossed for you.
@MoonDoggie (and all the rest of you well-wishers): Thanks for all the crossed body parts. Every good vibe helps!
ReplyDeleteOh what a grouch! I hate that! Not like it's a huge effort on his part to take a quick look. I'm sending you positive thoughts because it would be incredible to have the original glass. Keep us posted!!
ReplyDelete@Rhan Vintage: Poor thing...it must be awful to have someone interrupt your nap to offer you money. :)
ReplyDeleteThe good news might be that he's probably too lazy to have gone through the shed to get rid of anything. Hopefully he'll sober up enough to make the effort to find them for you!
ReplyDelete-Trish [Modern Thrifter]
@Trish: I have a feeling you're right. The guy doesn't seem like the most motivated person in the world, since our offer to pay him for the glass didn't work, so he probably hasn't gotten up out of his La-Z-Boy long enough to toss them either. I get the idea that he may not be a great renter, and I bet that when he moves out, the glass will be right where my friend Linda left it.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my blog, by the way. I really enjoy yours.