Welcome to the Misadventures of Widowhood blog!

Welcome to my World---Woman, widow, senior citizen seeking to live out my days with a sense of whimsy as I search for inner peace and friendships. Jeez, that sounds like a profile on a dating app and I have zero interest in them, having lost my soul mate of 42 years. Life was good until it wasn't when my husband had a massive stroke and I spent the next 12 1/2 years as his caregiver. This blog has documented the pain and heartache of loss, my dark humor, my sweetest memories and, yes, even my pity parties and finally, moving past it all. And now I’m ready for a new start, in a new location---a continuum care campus in West Michigan, U.S.A. Some people say I have a quirky sense of humor that shows up from time to time in this blog. Others say I make some keen observations about life and growing older. Stick around, read a while. I'm sure we'll have things in common. Your comments are welcome and encouraged. Jean

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Running Errands and Napoleonic Coaches


I left the house without using the bathroom first which isn’t a good idea for young children, pregnant ladies, old people and dogs who can’t ask how far it is to the next rest stop. I was running errands---the post office, the bank, dropping stuff off at Goodwill then at plastic recycling, paper recycling and media recycling---none of which had bathrooms. Well, except for Goodwill if I’d gone inside the place but they practically do body cavity searches with their eyes before they’ll unlock the door for you. What exactly are they looking for, a magician's coat with pockets big enough to hide rabbits and doves? A fake pregnancy bump? A hollow leg? If they sold high-end goods I could understand the twice-overs but there isn't anything in the place that costs more than twenty bucks.

Across the street is my favorite grocery and big box store but I avoid that place between Thanksgiving and Christmas because it’s as crowded as a well-tended worm farm so after the above errands I was headed to my second favorite grocery store, next door to the Guy-Land Cafeteria where I planned on having lunch. But they were five miles away and I didn’t think I’d make it there without peeing my pants. That’s when I heard the donut shop calling my name. It’s been open for three years and that’s how often I’ve been inside the place. There's something about sitting in a place that sells sweets with no redeeming quality that's embarrassing when you've been a “fatty-fatty-two-by-four” at different points in your life. But my bladder made the motion to stop and my brain seconded that proposal saying, Diet Season is less than a month away. A little sugar on your hips won’t stay there for long.

There were twelve people in the donut shop, all skinny or near enough to it. Why, oh why can’t I be one of them? I lamented as I ate the best lemon bismask I’ve ever had. It may have been the only lemon bismark I’ve ever had and as I tried to find an answer to that question in my Lost Memories File I heard a young mother laugh and tell her daughter that she was wearing her donut on her face. She was and it seemed to please the cutie pie immensely. When I left the place that little girl struggled to hold the door open for me. I thanked her and couldn’t help adding, “You ARE wearing your donut on your face. That’s a pretty shade of pink.” Her mom laughed again or maybe she never stopped and I wondered how long that frosting would stay there before it got washed off. I also wondered if the lemon bismark had time enough to make it to my hips because that’s where I wear my donuts. 

My trip to the bank, by the way, was to deposit money (minus his commission) my friend Tim brought over for selling an item for me. It was a 12” x 9” x 28” model of a Fisher Body Napoleonic Coach (photo above.) These models were built in the early1930s and submitted by high school students to Fisher Body (once a division of GM) using a set of plans provided by the company. The students were competing for significant scholarship money and many of those who participated in the contests went on to get design and engineering positions in the auto industry. These craftsman's guild coaches don't come up for sale often and this one was unusual because it had all its documentation and patterns plus the original shipping crate that was also built to the specifications given by Fisher Body. I wanted to keep that custom painted crate in the worst way with all its freight labels back and forth still plastered in place, but it was the only one we'd ever seen and I couldn't bring myself to be the one who separated it from its coach.

The day my husband came home with that Napoleonic coach he was one proud American Picker The thrill of the hunt was running high and it remained one of the jewels in his crown of glory that other pickers envied. But 87 years takes a toll on glue and I spent nearly a full day rebuilding wheels and hanging window shades and putting other trim pieces back in place. As I worked on the coach I debated between selling it and donating it to the Gilmore Car Museum. I’d already donated a large, framed grease and maintenance chart for a 1905 Reo Motor Car and was sure they’d welcome this coach too. But past tax breaks for donating stuff like this doesn't work in the Trump era so I felt I had to go for the cash in hand.

The person who bought the coach took a plane from Florida to pick it up, then rented a car to drive it and himself 1,400 miles back to Florida because neither he, Tim or I was willing to trust something that fragile to get shipped. He's an investment broker who will display it in his office. I'm glad it has a new home where people will see it, even though a museum or GM executive's office would have been a cooler ending for me. However, no one goes to that much trouble to acquire something without knowing its place in the history of auto transportation and I'm sure its story will be retold many times. The torch has been passed....and just in time for Christmas. ©

This was not built from a kit. The boys had to manufacture every part out of wood, metal or fabric and they had to sign a pledge that they didn't have any help.

Inside where passengers rode. The window shades and door locks even work.

31 comments:

  1. Wow! It did go to a good home if he was willing to go to all that effort. For some reason that makes me happy.

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  2. I fully understand the guy's substantial commitment to drive that gem home himself. A few people asked why I didn't let the movers haul all of my boxes during my move, but I just couldn't bring myself to trust my few remaining treasures to them: elegant glass stemware, American Brilliant cut glass, an elaborate Louisiana soapstone carving of wild boars running through a tangle of branches and berries. So, I toted them myself. I suppose it was closer to 1400 feet than 1400 miles, but it was worth it.

    There was a side benefit, too. All that up-and-downing on the stairs worked it's magic. By last Monday, I was down five pounds, and determined to keep it up. Today, another two have disappeared, and I'm going to try for ten before Christmas. I can't think of a better gift! (Although I'm a sucker for anything lemon, and probably would have bit on the Bismark, too.)

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    1. Your soapstone carving sounds wonderful! I had some stemware and last summer I broke one of them while packing it up. It happened so quickly!

      I've never let any of the cleaners I've had over the years dust my stuff. I figure if something is going to get broken, I'd rather be the one to do it. And I did break something worth $4-500 once when we were moving to to go to an auction.

      Congratulations on the weight loss! I've got two more parties to go to before Christmas, then I'm starting my annual diet.

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  3. Wow! That is just amazing! I spent a little time reading about the history of this contest and it was fascinating. Plus, I read some of the prices and none mentioned the crate. So congratulations on that fine sale! Just think how happy you have made Tim, plus the buyer. I know it must be so difficult to let go of such a treasure, but you can be sure it will be well taken care of and loved.
    That lemon Bismarck sounds so yummy. Plus I am sure all those errands burned off the calories. And it was a treasure to read about the little girl and her laughing mom..and to learn good manners still being taught. Thanks for sharing a wonderful day.

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    1. It was REALLY easy to let go of that coach. I was worried I wouldn't having a buyer for it, and the prices have been coming done as they always do when the generation of people who would recognize what something is dies off.

      I'm still trying to figure out why the girl's mom didn't wipe her face off but she was such a happy child and the mom seemed to be a good mom, so I'm guessing there is a reason.

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  4. Isn't it lovely to have your things go to people who are thrilled to have them!

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    1. It it! That's the sales that I like to label came from my Antiques Adoption Center. I was never crazy about that coach because it took up too much room but I appreciate the history of it and the genus way the auto industry first got kids interested in being auto engineers in the '30s. Collecting anything is a gateway into history.

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  5. You Michiganders and your funny words! LOL. I had to look up what a bismark was, at first thinking it was what we here in NEO call a cream stick (you call them long johns). Nope. It's a plain old jelly doughnut, or filled doughnut. I love studying dialect, and I must have missed that particular nugget.

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    1. I think it's a Canadian thing to call them bismarks instead of jelly-filled donuts. Some parts of the country also don't call cream filled sticks, long johns. They call them e'clairs and long johns are not filled. Even here you have to ask if they are filled or not, usually aren't. Would be fun to see a comprehensive list of all the bakery donuts with regional differences.

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  6. where did you keep all this stuff Jean?
    Your house must be enormous!!
    Sure glad this went to a good home.
    ' Why, oh why can’t I be one of them?' well if you figure that out will you let me in on the secret Jean?

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    1. 1,600 square feet house plus the same size basement and 3 stall garage. This coach sat in a plastic box in the basement for the past 19 years. Basement now empty except for Christmas stuff which I will downsize a year from now.

      The 'why oh why can't I be one of them' song is a popular one isn't it.

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  7. I love powdered lemon bismarks! Many years ago, a couple of years out of highschool, I bought a box of six of them to eat and then when I got home, I sat in my car and thought about what I was doing and ended up only eating two of them and giving the rest away to siblings. ha! That coach will be proudly taken care of by the new owner.

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    1. You were a good sister.

      I have only in recent years come to love the taste of all things lemon, so if lemon bismarks were around I've overlooked them for decades.

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  8. Margaret asked my question and thank you for answering it. I mean you keep coming up with different collections to purge and I know they had to take up room.
    Amazing that that was not a kit. I doubt kids today would even be interested. Sounds like it got a home where it will really be appreciated.

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    1. Kids back then were closer to farm families and they had to know how to build and fix stuff.

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  9. Thanks for sharing another history lesson. You could have started your own museum ... so many wonderful stories, as well as refurbishing.

    Thank GOODNESS you have enough time to work through all the memories.

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    1. People used to tell us it was liking going to a museum to come over. LOL One of our friends even bought my husband a telescoping pointer as joke because he was always pointing to something new he had acquired. That pointer in now in a place of honor in the dental cabinet.

      One of the major reasons I was so attracted to the CCC I'm moving to is the LONG time it gave me to downsize and that I'll be living in a place no one else had ever lived. I get to document it all in my blog.

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  10. LOL. I'm thinking we go to the same Goodwill, too, based on your description. And who doesn't love a good donut in this weather? It's hard to avoid eating for comfort between the weather and the stress of the holiday season. LOL. Starbucks has a Christmas bar (with cream cheese and cranberries) that I look for every year. I think it's time.

    That Fisher Body coach is amazing, and it's great that someone obviously values it enough to transport it personally. I can see why you'd want it in a museum, but having an owner who values it highly is probably the next best thing.

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    1. LOL. I think those Goodwills are the same, no matter what neighborhood they're in. I have not had that Starbucks bar yet so thanks for reminding me about it.

      I'm betting when the coach changes hands again it will eventually end up in a car museum. We never had a place to display it so it's been boxed up for decades so I'm happy it won't be out of sight any longer.

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    2. Jean, I understand your situation. My problem is I can go to the washroom and then go where I have to go and while I;m there, I have to go and if I can't find a washroom, dear God me. There have been time when I have a situation and my prostrate tells me, Paul I have to go right now, NOW! Many times I get home, put the car in the garage, run into the house and still miss the mark. At least I'm home. That's it for me Jean. I have to go to the washroom right now. See ya. Run, run, run.

      Cruisin Paul

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    3. Paul, at least with your outside plumbing you have more options for places to go. I used to know where all the best, private trees were when my husband was alive. LOL

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  11. If you don't know about Krusteaz Meyer Cheesecake Bars, you should! It is made from a mix, available in any store, then add some eggs and sugar. Recipe is easily Googled and also on the back of the box. I like the go-for-broke frosted ones. Share with friends!

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  12. Another fascinating story. I want to make sure I understand the work involved in this: the students were given the plans and they had to cut all the pieces of wood to the right size and fit them all together? What I was really wondering about was the beautiful carvings on the wheels and the trimmings. Do they come ready made and just need to be cut or were the students doing all that interesting trimmings as well?
    Thanks again...your stories are so interesting. I really like museums so I appreciate you sharing the content of yours with us!
    Regards
    Leze

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    1. It wasn't a kit. They ordered a set of plans and the plans included patterns for all the parts (think like a dressmakers pattern). With the plans came a booklet on how to put the coach together after they'd cut out and carved or made all the wood, metals and fabric parts listed. I didn't look at the plans close enough to know it it told what tools would get the end results or not, because I only needed the assembly chapter to make sure I was gluing stuff back together in the right order, but I assume it did. The contest was created because no one in the late 1920s was interested in going into automobile design and engineering and they were looking for teens to train to learn the trade.

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  13. Don't you love it when someone gets something of your that they love? I know the coach will be cherished forever! (And I avoid box stores like the plague at this time of year, too!)

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    1. I do love to see stuff I've invested time into go to a place where you know it made someone happy. Those are the kinds of sales I like to call come from my Antique Adoption Service.

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  14. The only time I won't pee before leaving the house is when I'm heading to the doctor's office for my yearly. Donuts are my downfall. I can never eat just one so I try very hard to stay away from them. The Napoleonic coach is just gorgeous!

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    1. Levi and me peeing is usually the last things to happen before I leave the house. I got distracted that day and forgot.

      I have had to return to a doctor's office on a different day because I couldn't pee on demand. LOL

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  15. What an amazing piece of engineering and artistry!

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