I think most creative people have homes that reflect their nature. My house is full of weird vintage doodads, bright colorful walls, art from all my friends & family & lots of 'input' (books, movies & music) for me to fill my head with. These things keep me inspired. They are bits of my life, my history, my passions, my inspiration. & this is the second part of a series of blog posts where I am going to share a little bit of that with you. I hope you enjoy them.
My knight in shining armor has been with me since I was in grade school, 18 years now. (Holy crap!) Growing up, my mother use to love to buy Victorian aged antiques for our house & thus would drag us to antique stores, flea markets & every Thursday we went to the local auction house. (Places that have become my haunts as an adult.)
Rarely did anything catch my eye at the auction house. At the time, I was too young to be interested in 'old stuff' & usually I would just stroll through the auction house, sipping on a soda & people watching.
But one evening in my strolling, I came across my knight quietly guarding a corner. It was love at first sight. I found my mother & drug her over to where he was standing, wedged between a bucket rakes & brooms & an old chair. I begged, I pleaded, I made crazy promises. You know, the normal kid stuff. She handed me $5 & told me that's what I could spend. If he went for $5 or less, he was mine.
I was in a tizzy! I plopped myself down in a fold up chair & waited (not so patiently) for them to bring my knight up for bidding. I waited & waited & waited. Finally, a woman picked him up by his elbows & drug him front & center for everyone to see & the bidding started.
My mom told me 'wait to see if anyone bids before you do, let them drop the price a bit'. So I waited, butterflies in my stomach, a huge smile plastered all over my face. When the bidding got down to $2 my hand flew into the air & the race was on!
But suddenly, the worst of the worst happened, I found myself bidding against someone. Someone else had their eye on MY knight. & it happened so fast! Before I knew it, my knight was going for $9 & sold to a little old man in overalls at the back of the auction house. I was crushed. I couldn't believe that I wasn't going to take the tin man home.
My mom, seeing how distressed I was, (& probably knowing she would never hear the end of the 'knight that got away') handed me a $5 bill & said, 'Go ask him if he will sell it to you for $10. Tell him that you really, really want it.'
With $10 crumpled in my hand & my heart on my sleeve, I shyly approached the man. He was a little surprised to find me smiling up at him & asking about the knight. I told him that I had really, really wanted it. That I had promised my mom to do extra chores for the money to buy him. He nodded at my story & told me that he wanted the knight for his garden. 'Oh! But he will rust! He will be ruined!' I exclaimed! & the little old man chuckled, his eyes sparkling & nodded. 'Yes, I guess that would ruin him. I can see that you would take very good care of him & he would have a long life with you. I will sell him to you.'
My face broke out in a huge smile as I handed to two $5 bills to the man, thanking him & running back to my mother in excitement.
I rode home with my tin man that night, under a starry sky, laying in the bed of our junk hauling pick up truck. I carried him into the house myself. I cleared a space in my bedroom for him & he has been with me every day since. I have moved him with me from apartment to apartment, state to state, house to house since that day. I have dusted & shined him, dressed him up for the holidays & in a lovely green tie, daydreamed about fairy tales with him & hidden trinkets behind his helmet.
I adore him. & I know that I actually had two knights in shining armor that day, though one was wearing overalls.
