Last week we asked: What do you do if your grandmother has something near and   
   dear to her heart and she tells you that when she dies she is going to leave   
   it to you so that you can proudly display it in your home.  Problem is, you   
   absolutley hate it.  A year later grandma has passed away and you are stuck   
   with this item that you don't want.  What if it's too big to be tucked away?    
   What if it's her little dog that she had stuffed when it died? Do you get rid   
   of it? Do you feel guilty if you do get rid of it?  Do you display it in a   
   room that is hardly used?  Do you display it and everytime someone walks in,   
   do you explain that you don't like it but you feel you owe it to grandma to   
   display it because she loved it so?  Has this ever happened to you?  Even if   
   it hasn't, what would you do?   
      
   Evelyn R. said: "If it is from your grandmother keep it forever. I am 83 years   
   old and spent last night up and down dreaming about a cookie jar my   
   Grandmother gave me. What did I do with it. I know I liked it but it is   
   haunting me that I donCÇÖt know where it is?"   
      
   Mari C. said: "Hello, You asked about being given something by a family member   
   from their estate.  In my case, it was my Mother.  From the time I was   
   six-years-old until I left home, one of my chores was to do the weekly   
   dusting.  That included her miniature figurines.  I detested those small   
   things no matter how much she loved them and would rearrange them.  One year   
   before she died, she brought them to me with the words, "I know you'll keep   
   them safe for me." That was forty-five years ago.  Yes, I still have them.   
   Some are on my antique dresser in the guest room and the rest are safely in an   
   attorney's cabinet.  My daughter will have to worry about them, but I will not   
   "gift" her with them.  Love your news letter."   
      
   If you have a story to share with our readers, please email it to   
   phil@Bignews.biz and we will include it in an upcoming issue.   
      
   In a recent newsletter we asked how you felt about the following example: A   
   popular hunting magazine ran an article written by a gun collector.  He was so   
   proud of himself for buying a shotgun from a elderly man who was closing out   
   his home and having an estate sale.  While asking $100.00 on a particular   
   shotgun the buyer talked the elderly man down to $50.00.  The buyer proudly   
   stated how the gun was later sold for $150,000.00 and he was not in the least   
   bit concerned with "taking" the elderly man for all it was worth.  If the   
   buyer had offered the elderly man $1000.00, 10 times the amount he was asking,   
   do you think that would have been fair?  Is it the buyer's responsibility to   
   "come clean" or is it the seller's responsibility to do the proper research   
   before selling an item?   
      
   Here's a response that we received recently:   
      
   "Hello, I work for a non-profit in their shop selling new items. From time to   
   time, one volunteer will find a gently used item she brings in and tags on the   
   night she works.  Two nights after she brought in 3 pairs of earrings   
   CÇô all CÇ£80CÇÖs style costumeCÇØ, all marked at $25 each - I sold the first   
   pair   
   and put out the other 2 pair.  I noted that the third pair was a heavy pair of   
   doorknockers with sprew marks, were beautifully finished inside and were also   
   marked 14KT on the clip.  They had a gorgeous yellow gold color that costume   
   doesnCÇÖt usually have.  I was about to buy them, but instead asked the lead   
   volunteer that night if I could take them to the jeweler to be appraised.  She   
   said yes.  I found out that the jeweler would give me $380 on the spot based   
   solely on gold weight and if they were to put them in their vintage showcase   
   they would mark them up double.  Whew!  I quickly called the volunteer who   
   brought them in and told her of my findings.  She said she was sure they were   
   costume and now understandably wanted them back. Of course, I am holding them   
   for her.  It simply occurred to me that we should all know what we are   
   donating and never simply take something out of our jewelry box on our way to   
   volunteering.  Items should always go to the Chair for evaluation and pricing   
   first.  This is also true for our secondhand for profit shops, which I have   
   also owned.  This volunteer had brought these items in after losing her mother   
   3 months ago and made a simple mistake that she couldnCÇÖt really afford to   
   make CÇô financially or emotionally.  Thanks for remembering me after years   
   and years CÇô I enjoy your newsletter.  Jane Y."   
      
   In another newsletter we asked about curbside finds, and what you did with   
   them. In response to that we received the following note:   
      
   "Hi Phil,  I know I'm a bit behind on this one but finally had the time to   
   reply to the question of finding something of value at curbside.  Several   
   years ago (20 to be exact), we lived on a cul-de-sac in a very nice   
   neighborhood.  Our house was at the bottom of the hill and we had to pass   
   everyone else's house to get to ours.  On my way home one day, I saw a   
   neighbor working in his yard among things that appeared to be for a garage   
   sale.  There were two raggedy but solid chairs that were just my style.  The   
   arms and legs had beautiful carvings but the upholstery was truly a sad   
   sight.  I asked him what he was going to do with them and he announced that   
   the chairs were going to the dump as his wife would not let him have them even   
   in the garage anymore.  They had belonged to his mother and at that time she   
   was in her late 80's.  I couldn't bear to see them thrown out so he said if I   
   wanted them I could have them.  I loaded them into my van and immediately   
   thought of how gorgeous they would be..  covered in deep blue velvet and added   
   to my dining room.  I did follow through with that plan and enjoyed them for   
   20 years, thinking of my neighbors every time I looked at the chairs.    
   Recently, we decided to change our decor and even though I couldn't bear to   
   part with the chairs, I knew they just would not fit in anymore.  I decided to   
   call our former neighbors to see if by chance they wanted them back.  The wife   
   remembered how beautiful they looked after I'd had them reupholstered.  They   
   decided that since each of their daughters had gotten married and had homes of   
   their own, they would give one to each and then they would have something   
   special that belonged to their grandmother who had since passed away.  Even   
   though they would not put a price on them when they offered them to me 20   
   years ago, they held precious value to me in their beauty, and even more so   
   knowing I was able to return the chairs to them in the end.  They were   
   delighted that I had called them!  Enjoy reading the Newsletter!  Myra, from   
   Oregon"   
   ---------------   
      
   If you have an opinion, or a story, in reference to any of the above topics,   
   we'd love to hear from you!  Please send it to: Phil@BigNews.biz and maybe we   
   will run it in an upcoming newsletter.   
      
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    * Origin: Prism bbs (1:261/38)