Thrifty Treasures

Thrifty Treasures (worth so much more)

by the ADHD Accountant – Krid

On Vancouver Island, in the Province of British Columbia, in the nation of Canada on the continent of North America; Earth, Sol system, there is a place my family calls “Goats on the Roof.” In reality it is called Coombs Old Country Market and it is a mix of this and that and some other things. There’s ice cream and lavender honey amongst artisanal knick-knacks and bric-a-brac. There are sculptures and palm readings, and almost everything is new. But my adventure started here, with grass rooves and goats munching merrily atop them, a scant few kilometers from my parents’ home and in the company of two kids and my partner. We were cramped in a tiny car and heading to the West coast; places called Ucluelet and Tofino.

Family vacations are not things always regulated to schedules and itineraries. This leg of our journey wasn’t concerned with ferry schedules, check in times, lunch, or even bathroom stops; we were well equipped with a stocked cooler and toilet paper. We had plenty of room on our phones for photos, videos loaded on laptops, and power converters to keep everything charged.

Heading West we took the time to stop here, there, and pretty much everywhere. It is on that lonely road that I wouldn’t call a highway, but would call scenic, that we hit thrift store after thrift store. Or junk shop. You see, I had a theory; these people living on the fringe of civilization would throw nothing out. Yes – I was treasure hunting.

“X” marks the spot, and I should have marked it on the map because to this day none of us can recall how many we hit up, or where we made our finds. A cool pocket knife here, a memorable bracelet there, and then BAM! Fountain pens! The middle of nowhere (kind of) is no place for a high maintenance tool; I may rail against it, but fountain pens are definitely NOT the easiest option in the local supermarket if you want a writing instrument.

Two Sheaffers and one Wahl-Eversharp. I wanted them, as much as any dragon wants to add more to their hoard. I think the little old lady was bemused at the thought that anyone in this day and age would want such an anarchistic item, or perhaps she had hated them since school. I imagined her a widower, glad of the company and we chatted about nothing as I haggled here down. She certainly didn’t negotiate very hard and I got three pens of unknown functionality. Only one of which was pretty. Treasure.

Wahl-Eversharp is a relatively well known brand, though never one of the big players to my way of thinking.

This pen caught my eye, despite being blue, because the design of the pen was based after modern deco iconography featuring the steam locomotive. A long, powerful train of smooth lines emerging from the distance, out of the fog, with a head of smoke coming from a short stack creating a cloud over the train. The image gives the impression of power and speed. The achievements and accomplishments of humanity working together across the ages, and the spans that separate us from one another.

The model’s name certainly doesn’t evoke such a strong response, but then what is one word compared to a thousand (a picture is worth a thousand words indeed)? “Skyliner;” I think it is a play on the image that the train travelling on track hidden in fog and creating its own clouds is like a ship sailing the ocean with nothing to constrain it (ocean liner meet sky liner). Perhaps that is my own fanciful interpretation. It doesn’t matter; I was in love.

It cost me a little bit to buy it, and a little bit more to get it working; lever fillers often need to be re-sacked (re-sac?) after years of neglect and I am no skilled craftsman with a delicate touch and a shop full of custom tools and ready parts. I sent it to a pro. Redeemed, if you will. Thanks Redeem Pens!

Do you remember your first time in a muscle car, launching off the line? Perhaps the first takeoff in a powerful jet? I don’t have the words to describe the ongoing enjoyment I get from using this pen over the years. The flexible nib, the line variation; it is actually a bit smaller than I would normally prefer, but it’s just so much fun to use. I have no idea how much I could get for it on e-bay, and it doesn’t matter - the treasure is the memories every time I look at it, and the feeling every time I use it.

Priceless.

<<END SONG: JARYD SMITHE – TREASURE HUNTERS >>