While reading another thread "odd yardsale find", I was reminded of an odd pawnshop find about a decade ago...BUT was more like Kismet.
My friend and I attend the December (annual) gunshow in Wilmar, MN every year, This story was 2005. We got skunked. This gunshow usually produces some special find every year, but not this year. On our way out of town, we always stopped by the pawnshop. We were telling the owner that there was nothing at the show. He says, "well, I have a very recent find to show you fellows", which is strange as he usually doesn't deal with guns...His sons do that at other locations, he is a coin guy, for the most part...anyway he goes in the back and brings this out. It seemed more that he was showing us his new gun instead of showing us a gun that's for sale.
.
.
.
.
.
I was pretty sure I knew what it was before he opened the case...but not 100% sure. I asked him if a young fellow around 30 years old named John Marsh sold this to him. He said he couldn't tell me who sold it...but the look in his eye, He knew I nailed it. He opened the case and showed us this awesome Browning medalist (without the funeral bulletin).
.
.
.
.
.
I didn't even handle it, no other words were spoken, I asked how much, He reluctantly said $750...I said, I'll Take it ! He was a little shocked and probably wished he'd said more. I wasn't sure if that was a good price for it in 2005, but that didn't matter, that gun was going to be mine (but it turns out that was a fairly good price, in that condition). In those same few seconds, my friend's jaw dropped...He never seen me buy anything like that without a good haggle session, especially at that price range. I told the owner and my friend this story...
That's Babe's Gun. (Babe, an older co-worker, neighbor and close friend of mine, taught me many things over the years...including welding basics, smoke curing fish and birds, and other lessons of life). He passed away in '02 after a couple bouts with cancer. He bequeathed items from his gun collection to various people...even a couple to me. But the prize of his collection is seen in the above photo. Bequeathed to his only son, Babe even had the case engraved right before his death to say so.
Babe's son is a troubled young man, he's been in lots of trouble, dealing drugs, jail, and other not so friendly stuff. I really only knew him from Babe's stories, and though they weren't real good stories, you could tell he loved his son, and wished the best for him. John had moved back home at some point before Babe's death and was supposedly getting his life back on track...But I never really knew for sure, if that was the case.
The Day after Babe passed away, John comes over to tell me that his Dad passed, He had never, ever been to my house before...only 3 blocks away. Then he tells me that I was bequeathed a couple guns and then he pulls out this case that I had never seen before (but Babe did mention to me on my last visit with him, about this Medalist that he bought back in '67 and wanted his son to have it). John tells me gleefully that this was part of his inheritance and was excited to take it out shooting sometime...I was slightly disturbed by how gleeful he was and about this whole "show and tell" episode the day after his Dad passes away...although I knew his family had been suffering as Babe suffered with this final round of cancer for the last month or so. I wrote it off as just that. He and his sister also inherited a pretty good estate, besides a nice house in Glencoe, a hunting cabin on a lake in Northern MN, with abutting land (40 acres). All sold for the $$$ to be split up.
After the funeral and a large auction, and a great auction it was, Babe was a very inventive fellow, and there were many treasures (read inventions) that were sold, that I had never even seen before. I Had my eye on a couple of them...and they were a large hand meat grinder that he "motorized" and a large sausage stuffer with homemade gear reduction with a removable U-joint, so you could direct crank it without the gear reduction. All the years I knew him, he always had some project going and building something fantastic.
ANYWAY, back to the story. I hadn't seen John since the auction (and still haven't seen him to this very day), and I figured he has moved on to another place and another town (hopefully not to another jail). But he must have been low on cash to have sold such a heirloom in 2005...and only 3 years after his Dad's passing. I figure it must have been kismet (fate), that I find that pistol at a pawnshop within a day or so of it being sold to the pawnbroker, in a town 60 miles from my home, that I go to only once a year for this gunshow...while I filled out the 4473 and his wife made the background check call, the Pawnbroker told me he hadn't really decided if he was even going to sell it or not, and he kind of regretted even saying a price, until I told him about Babe. He was glad that a close friend was getting possession of the gun...and maybe one day the son will turn his life around, if so, I hope I'll be there...with a gift.
Gee, I miss you Babe.
Jon
|
   
   
|
|
Reply With Quote
