Wife is away for the weekend to see her elderly dad. Both are fighting thru some difficult health issues. I decided to do some early spring cleaning in her absence because she is very weak & is a bit of a packrat compared to my habits. I can make a lot of progress with decluttering when she is away without having to deal with her angry looks & attitude. I don't do too much, but a little section at a time makes me feel like progress has been made and she rarely notices my "progress".
Anyway, going thru our antique dining room buffet today, I was pulling out items of days gone by. It had probably been 8-10 years since I had last rummaged around in it.
Lots of stuff had never been touched for years. I pulled them out in an effort to get rid of these items. Mostly Christmas items. Plates, drinkware, candle holders with candles, etc.
I happened to stumble upon a vintage piece of Aggie memorabilia that was produced & sold around 60 years ago by a company called Reuge. It was like a fish out of water and was something that didn't belong with the rest of the items. Not even sure how it ended up there. This item is a swiss-made musical instrument that hooked up to your door & it pulled the string when you opened the door & played the Aggie War Hymn once the door was closed. It's basically an old music box & sounds just like one. My grandpa had one of these in his house in Burnet back in the 70's and I've had the opportunity to purchase several of these over the past 25 years on ebay. Anyway, I pulled the string on it & nothing happened. I tapped on it but still nothing. I tapped on it harder, but the string would still not retract so music would not play. The item had gone kaput. I set it aside to finish my task. 30-40 minutes elapsed & nothing had changed, so I decided to toss it in the trash with a few other items. It was a sad moment as I collect vintage items of A&M, especially of the Aggie War Hymn.
The house was quiet as I was preparing for bed about 30 minutes ago. I was just getting ready to read Mark's tidbits when I hear a familiar tune coming from 2 rooms away. I listened closer to make sure I wasn't imagining anything, as I have consumed a couple of rum & cokes. It was real! The music box had begun to play the AWH after sitting in the trash can for over an hour.
Entering the room it was still slowly playing it's tune. I removed the music box out of the trash. I pulled the string again & it continued to play! I've done this 3 times now & it's still playing....sometimes a bit slow, but playing nonetheless.
Lesson learned. This had to be a sign, but I'm not sure from whom.
Then it came to me like an epiphany:
Never doubt the spirit of A&M, the AWH or even the spirit of us humans in our will to keep going.
This event was a good reminder for me, especially as I age. There are times in my life when things seem dead & gone & as a result I trash it & try to move on. Tonight's experience reminded me to keep believing in the positives in life , no matter how grim things are or seem to be at the time.
Sometimes, just sometimes, in the quiet of the moment, the music can still be played & heard despite being given up for dead.
Maybe a good vision to latch on to for Aggie sports in '23?
Sorry for being long, sappy & overly dramatic.
I'm typing this as my dog lays a few feet from dreaming about something exciting, as she slowly wags her tail & quietly barks at something in her sleep. Strange event but seems to fit the scene.
The words came to me as I was posting so I just went with it....
Have a great weekend.
Anyway, going thru our antique dining room buffet today, I was pulling out items of days gone by. It had probably been 8-10 years since I had last rummaged around in it.
Lots of stuff had never been touched for years. I pulled them out in an effort to get rid of these items. Mostly Christmas items. Plates, drinkware, candle holders with candles, etc.
I happened to stumble upon a vintage piece of Aggie memorabilia that was produced & sold around 60 years ago by a company called Reuge. It was like a fish out of water and was something that didn't belong with the rest of the items. Not even sure how it ended up there. This item is a swiss-made musical instrument that hooked up to your door & it pulled the string when you opened the door & played the Aggie War Hymn once the door was closed. It's basically an old music box & sounds just like one. My grandpa had one of these in his house in Burnet back in the 70's and I've had the opportunity to purchase several of these over the past 25 years on ebay. Anyway, I pulled the string on it & nothing happened. I tapped on it but still nothing. I tapped on it harder, but the string would still not retract so music would not play. The item had gone kaput. I set it aside to finish my task. 30-40 minutes elapsed & nothing had changed, so I decided to toss it in the trash with a few other items. It was a sad moment as I collect vintage items of A&M, especially of the Aggie War Hymn.
The house was quiet as I was preparing for bed about 30 minutes ago. I was just getting ready to read Mark's tidbits when I hear a familiar tune coming from 2 rooms away. I listened closer to make sure I wasn't imagining anything, as I have consumed a couple of rum & cokes. It was real! The music box had begun to play the AWH after sitting in the trash can for over an hour.
Entering the room it was still slowly playing it's tune. I removed the music box out of the trash. I pulled the string again & it continued to play! I've done this 3 times now & it's still playing....sometimes a bit slow, but playing nonetheless.
Lesson learned. This had to be a sign, but I'm not sure from whom.
Then it came to me like an epiphany:
Never doubt the spirit of A&M, the AWH or even the spirit of us humans in our will to keep going.
This event was a good reminder for me, especially as I age. There are times in my life when things seem dead & gone & as a result I trash it & try to move on. Tonight's experience reminded me to keep believing in the positives in life , no matter how grim things are or seem to be at the time.
Sometimes, just sometimes, in the quiet of the moment, the music can still be played & heard despite being given up for dead.
Maybe a good vision to latch on to for Aggie sports in '23?
Sorry for being long, sappy & overly dramatic.
I'm typing this as my dog lays a few feet from dreaming about something exciting, as she slowly wags her tail & quietly barks at something in her sleep. Strange event but seems to fit the scene.
The words came to me as I was posting so I just went with it....
Have a great weekend.
