8. This Week's Stories and Requests for Help/Blast from the past   
      
   We try to post stories and comments from our readers each week. Send your   
   story to newsletter@tias.com.   
      
   Here's a new story from one of our readers in Arizona, inspired by last week's   
   reprint of a young grandson innocently asking what would become of his   
   grandmother's stuffed monkey when she died:   
      
   I've not had anyone nicely ask (as did Janice's grandson in the most recent   
   issue) if something would be left to them, but I did have someone--quite   
   blatantly--approach the subject.  About 15 years ago, my sister had gotten   
   married, and her new husband was coming over to meet us all at Christmas.  The   
   youngest sister was the only one who had met him, and she did not have a very   
   favorable impression of him.  Neither did I, after meeting him. This guy came   
   into my house and started going on about my collections.  As you know, any   
   collector likes talking about their best finds, how long they've been   
   collecting and so on, but the conversation with this guy was something else.    
   He poked and prodded his way through my house, asking odd questions. Then he   
   pointed to a large oil painting I've had for years, one of my favorites, and   
   wanted to know if it was by anyone famous. I told him it was by an artist who   
   was very well known in Europe, not so much stateside.  He then asked how much   
   it was worth.  I was taken aback by this direct question and instead told the   
   very exciting story of how little I had paid for it at an auction after most   
   of the crowd had left.  He was insistent, "Yes, but how much is it worth?" I'd   
   done a little research when I bought it and discovered most of his work went   
   from $2,000 to   
   $5,000, so I jokingly said, "Oh, a couple thousand.  However,   
   he's still alive but in his 90s.  It should go up after he dies." My new   
   brother in law looked me right in the eye and, completely serious, said "I   
   expect you to leave this to me and your sister when you die." I was about 40   
   at the time...  made me feel like he was plotting something to get his hooks   
   into my stuff!  After he left I taped a huge piece of paper to the back of the   
   frame that said, "Under no circumstances is this to go to xxx upon my death."   
   My sister is no longer with this buffoon, but recently my 18 year old son got   
   quite the surprise when I asked him to help me move this painting.  I'd   
   forgotten the note on the back and when my son saw it he started laughing.   
    "Boy, you really didn't like that guy, did you?" Son, you don't   
   know the half of it...   
      
   Ali K, Mesa AZ   
      
   Comments, thoughts?  We collect interesting stories about collecting.  Things   
   like your best find, unusual collections, bizarre collectibles.  Anything and   
   everything that is interesting that has to do with collecting.  We may publish   
   it here.  Send your story to newsletter@tias.com   
      
   --------------------------   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Dada-2   
    * Origin: Prism bbs (1:261/38)