The point that my friend slaps his forehead ...

I can hear it already.

The dull smack on my friend's head as he meets it with his palm.

Maybe he'll go for the closed fist against the head. I dunno.

But he knows who he is.

When I picked up a 8mm projector from the WWII era, he said, "wow, that's neat, especially since you have so many 8mm films."

Yeah. We all have those laying around, right guys? Uh, Guys?

Today I had the privilege of assisting my aunt-in-law and uncle-in-law with clearing out a bit of his father's house. His dad died a few months ago, and all of the estate has been going through whatever process (probate?) that it needs to go through, and they just about closed today (complex story).

I went under the assumption that most of the stuff was done and gone, but I was quite wrong.

I also went assuming I was picking up just a few things to store for them until such time they had the capacity and ability in their vehicles to take said items to their house on the Oregon and Washington boarder.

Dear sweet, Lord, why do I deceive myself?

I'm practically an addict to estate sales. But I am poor. But when relatives are just about to ship things off to the local thrift store, it's all about free. I'm also a history sucker, and, well, that might not be a good combination.

I'm grateful that I got some usable stuff.

Though, I don't *quite* know what I'll do with four plastic mail order arbors that unfold and screw into some sort of fence (screws included!), or the bowling ball. Okay, I know the bowling ball is for juggling. So should the knives and antique oil cans (ala "Wizard of Oz", the Tin Man scene, except they are made of copper). Or perhaps the four Sampsonite folding chairs (mild mildew scent).

Or maybe the Hi-Fi from the 1950s in its built-in cabinet It's BEAUTIFUL.

What?

Yeah I've been wanting one since about 1996 when I got an LP from a Russian Orthodox monastery.

It's not as weird as is sounds. It was either take the recordings of the oldest church bells in Russia from one of the few monasteries that survived the Soviet religious purges (the rumour is they did them alphabetically, and this one was at the end of the alphabet ... near the Baltic States, just outside of Pskov), or stay. Their kvaas was good, but not that good.

Okay, prepare your hand, dear dream house friend. I don't have a place to put it. Oh, I'll find a place to put it, and will set my modern i-pod station on top of it to play ipod tunes. Might even retro fit the speakers some day ... but of course I'll use it ...

To play my one LP.

And that, compared to my 8mm projector, should be justified.