BLOBBY'S BLOG

Time (Clock of the Heart)

For whatever reason, I've had this little spurt of family.....I don't know what you'd call it. Pride? Interest?

I might just be an age thing, I don't really know. I mean, I'm really glad I've gotten to know my 2nd cousin, David. We hang out together and just shoot the shit - and rarely about family. And drink. We drink.

It was funny, not too long ago, we were walking his dog, Ted, and he introduced me to neighbors as his friend.....and then said, 'well...he's my cousin'.

I was thinking it and they said it - 'it's nice you can be friends with your cousin'. And it is. I can't say I am with any of my others. Oh, and he's my #1 Facebook Fan.

But my great-grandfather was a jeweler back in the 1800s (man, that seemed weird to write) and I only have one piece of his work - and it is an ugly-ass ring that went from him to my grandfather to my uncle to my father to me. 'CE' were the initials on it, for my great-grandfather. My uncle chanced the C to an E for him. When it came to me, I'm sure my father thought he was doing the right thing to make the first E into a B. But it's now been changed so much, they almost look like Chinese lettering. And it's ugly and doesn't fit - so I ain't wearing it.

Bling, you'd call it. One off-set diamond and one off-set sapphire. And it's yellow gold. I'm much more of a platinum, white gold, palladium kind of guy. But it's an...I dunno....heirloom (?). It's all I have of my family name. Except my name.

There is one wall clock hanging in a restaurant right near us that was his, but the owner will not sell it to me - even though it does not work. I'd pay handsomely for it too.

Anyway, finally to my story. I found a pocket watch my great-grandfather designed and built on eBay. I rarely ever go there and was even too lazy to set up one of their alerts if anything came up - but I typed in his name and poof! it was there. $78. And it works!!!!

I could have bid on it, but I just did the 'buy now' option. Hell, the gold alone is worth more than $78.

The seller and I have exchanged a few emails. He was thrilled it's going back to a family member. He asked a little about me and my great-grandfather. I asked him how he came into possession of the watch.

I purchased it from a flea market vendor, was the reply.

I could not help myself sending back a message: LOL....and there is my family history wrapped up into eight words!

So I'm having lunch with David and our cousin Bill on Friday and will show them the watch (which btw, is the actual image with the title). On Sunday, I will take it and show it to my almost 90 year old father. I think he'll get a kick out of it.

Oh, the seller must be an elderly man. Packed in with the watch was a package of Werthers Original hard candies. I could not stop laughing when I opened the box.



Song by: Culture Club