One Man's Trash...

...is not exactly my treasure (unless you want to pay me big bucks for it) but it certainly stands to become a useful piece of furniture in my life.  I found this beauty, yesterday evening in Chinatown, on my way to a restaurant with my friend Pete. It was stuck between a wood kitchen chair and several trash bags at curbside. A cursory glance had me thinking it was  good find and as we passed it I told Pete it would be mine, if still there when we got back and if in good condition. 

We spent a lot more time in the restaurant, evidently because the waiter forgot we had ordered a Peking Duck. Our guess was he had told the chef to cook it right after we ordered, but he had forgotten all about it since he later said we never ordered it. By the time we got it, probably over an hour and fifteen minutes after we ordered it, it was pretty well done and fairly dry for a duck. It took so long to get served, that halfway through it, Pete decided to go back out to the car, a few blocks away, to feed the meter. It was only good for two hours. When he came back, I asked if he had taken the chair and hidden it in the back of his SUV. He just gave me a sly smile and a bit of a chuckle.

Well, soon enough, we were out of the restaurant but not headed back toward the chair. We were off to a local store for something Pete needed for his kitchen. I figured if they didn't have at this place in Chinatown, no one has it locally. We got there just as a man and woman were hurriedly pulling a few outside displays off the street and back into he store. It was closing time by they graciously let us take a quick loo for the item Pete wanted. They had no clue what it was when he asked for a flame tamer but he found it in a few minutes with a different name on it. Regardless of the name of it, it was what he wanted and he scooped one up.

We trudged back toward the car (and that chair) through the snow, yeah it was pretty cold and snowing last night even though it's in the 50s right now, and as we walked I hoped the chair was still there and in good shape. As we got close, we could see it was still there. So, Pete hadn't grabbed it after all! I pulled it away from the trash and opened it up. At first glance, it looked to be in very good condition - dare I say - considering its age. I am guessing it was made in the sixties or earlier. I don't think these were made anymore in the seventies, maybe though it could be that young but probably not any younger. When I got it home, I saw there was a piece of clear packaging tape around one corner of he seat. I took it off, hoping the corner would not pull apart and was not disappointed. It looks as if maybe someone had glued the corner back together. It's quite possible the joint came loose being the chair must be pretty old. If someone did glue it back together, he did a good job.

Since there are no maker's marks or labels on the chair (there hay have been once upon a time), I am probably going to keep it and get some use out of it. Had there been a label on it, from a desirable maker, it may have been worth selling. Anyway, I should be able to put it to good use and have already sat in it this morning while starting to clean my latest firearms acquisition - a Mossberg 44 U.S.(a). The nice thing about it, besides it being in such good shape, is that when I don't need it I can fold it up and stash it away. It was one man's trash and while not my treasure, I certainly should get a lot of good use out of it.

All the best,
Glenn B