People are actually buying my stuff

My web site, www.TennRebGirl.com is actually popping now, after 8 months of modest sales. Suddenly, just this month, orders have kept me from preparing for my move to Macon Georgia. I'm not complaining although a friend did say to me recently that I was the only person they knew who was stressed out from people not buying my things and now stressed out because they were. Anxiety about everything runs in my family. I guess it dates back to worries over whether the boat would sink on the journey to America and all those durn Indian attacks while homesteading in Oklahoma. Well, back to work until I can find something else to complain about.

When Collectors Move

I am now facing the onerous task of transporting all my possessions to another home. Like most collectors, a large percentage of things I have collected fall into the category of "why did I buy that?". Since I am down sizing to an even smaller home,these things now need to be disposed of--the good, the bad, and the ugly alike. My attic is so cluttered that I can't step one foot from the stair well. Where and how to start? I can use the excuse that I've been using that's it's too cold to work in the attic and wait until it's too hot to work there. The only good thing about moving is that now at least my son will have to finally have to remove his stuff. That will almost make the move worthwhile.

I Hate Going to Estate Sales

I have hated going to estate sales ever since my experience of having an item snatched out of my hands by a "little old lady" who declared "I meant to get that!". Still estate sales and garage sales seem to be the last frontier in the antique business. There are still good things to be found in such sales if you can only stand to get up real early every Thursday, Friday and Saturday of your life and go and stand in line for hours just to be among the first in the door. I rarely go to these things now, preferring to drink my coffee and read the newspaper before stirring out, usually then only to take my morning walk with my four legged side kick. I did go to one this morning after three friends called to suggest that I take in a certain sale. I arrived an hour and a half early only to be among the first 20 or 30 people in line. One person told of having arrived at 4:30 am to find someone's bag first in line. The bag had a note on it which said "gone for coffee". Remarking on this to someone else, the true early bird learned that someone who had gone by the DAY BEFORE to case the place had seen the bag there. As time went by and the coffee bearer did not materialize , the bag was gently lifted and pitched out of the line. As time grew nearer the opening, a gentleman arrived and picked up his bag and crassly moved to the head of the line. I should have said tried to move to the front of the line where he was challenged by the people he was trying to usurp. Banging on the door, he pleaded his case with the estate sale giver who quickly sent him to the rear of the very long line. Shaking his head he was heard to say "This is a sad state of affairs." He obviously thought himself to be the aggrieved party. This type of behavior seems to be common with some of the serious dealers who live or die economically by their finds. Still there is something demeaning about people who run around slapping sold stickers on everything, until they can decide whether they really want to buy it or not or even brazenly removing items from other people's selections. Maybe it's because I have a pension to live on but I just can't stand to act that way or even see others act that way. Oh, and by the way, I didn't find anything.

Guess the Civil War Isn't Over

I recently experienced something that gave rise to my "Southern hot blood". My family is the subject of a very lengthy web site. It's a great site and meticulously traces our family roots back to the 1600's in England, Ireland, and Scotland. I check it every now and then to see what additions have been made. Thus, I found a page devoted to the veterans of several of our Nation's wars, including a list of Union soldiers. I didn't know I had any Union soldiers in my family tree, possibly they are from some obscure branch. I did know of several Confederate ancestors, including my great-great grandfather and other relatives who fought in Texas units. I thought possibly the individual doing the web site didn't know about the Confederates in our family tree so I sent a listing that I had accumulated from my research. Her reply was that though she knew she had Confederate ancestors, she had chosen to honor only the Union soldiers. I found it most infuriating that this person would not want to honor all of her own relatives' service. I know that this attitude is predominant among many of our Northern citizens (notice I didn't say Yankees) There is a movement to extinguish the Confederate battle flag simply because a bunch of racist red necks have hijacked it. Many in our country are busily trying to erase our Confederate history and symbols. I believe this has inherent dangers which should be obvious to all. There are already people who maintain and evidently believe that the holocaust never happened. I believe it is important to preserve our history, good and bad so that judgments can be made for future. We are in enough trouble now in our country from ignoring the lessons of history.

Here is the information I shared with the person with my DNA who was not interested but I have decided to pay tribute myself to my warrior ancestors, who even in participating in the "lost cause" had as much to do with what we are now as a country as those who were on the winning side.

These are some of my Confederate relatives. I will begin with my great-great grandfather S Thomas Glover, 2nd Lt. 23rd Texas Cavalry,who is pictured, John Phillip Orr who served in Company D, 32nd Texas Cavalry, John Washington Lindley who was in Captain H W Fisher's Company, 3rd Regiment, Sibley's Brigade Mounted Volunteers, James Riley Lindley, Company G, Colonel Hunter's Regiment, also serving under general Joe Shelby, and B W Lindley who served in the Gouldi Regiment.

I would be remiss if I didn't pay tribute to other fighters in our family which includes three famous persons who have made their mark in history. The earliest was Col John Pyle, British Army,who though a doctor, found himself fighting Light Horse Harry Lee in a battle known of Pyle's Massacre, which involved Lee's massacre of Pyle's men at Haw River. Pyle was later pardoned for his actions in treating wounded soldiers on both sides. Other members of the Lindley family, though quakers, fought for the Patriots.

John Lindley, who died at the Alamo

Alvin C York, Hero and Medal of Honor winner from WWI

Woes of Having a Web Site

My new web site is now about four months old. I have been literally chained to my computer, which is hard for an aging attention deficit challenged person. I now have 2,400 items listed in several collectible categories. This has required me to list 15 to 20 new items a day. Hey this isn't fun, it's work. No more antiquing or or enjoying the life of a retiree. I can't even walk through my house without spotting something that should be offered to others. I'm supposed to be making enough money to be able to move to Georgia to be near my two and a half grandchildren but getting known in the world wide web is very difficult. They say it takes a year for your website to get going and I believe them. When I try to google my items, I give up after the 30th page. I can hardly believe that two customers actually found me that way. They have more patience than I do. Whoops, back to my listings.

eBay and Fraud

Fraud is rampant on eBay. It not surprising that there are people out there who are willing to cheat others. What is shocking is the systematic toleration of this practice on eBay. In the past you could warn others of fake items by e-mailing the bidder but eBay closed this loop hole to all but the most daring. Reproductions and fantasy items abound. APIC members are working with eBay on dealing with this problem in the political hobby and seem to think they are making progress. but it seems to me that they have been working for a very long time with no results. It is clear to me at least that eBay is more interested in the bottom line, which is immediate profit. eBay needs to take a long range view of this issue because they are losing customers who have been burned by the con artists. I've even heard experienced, knowledgable collectors say that they are afraid to bid on anything on eBay anymore. The latest examples of fraud are the too good to be true Confederate Reunion flags which are being made out of period material. People are paying thousands of dollars for these rip-offs. eBay covers themselves by saying buyers beware, taking no real responsibility for protecting their consumers. Shame on you eBay.

I Miss My Friend, Herb Peck

You won't know Herb Peck unless you are a Nashvillian, or one who deals in guns or photography. Herb worked in the Fine Arts Department at Vanderbilt University until his retirement. He enjoyed a too short retirement, dying suddenly over a year ago. I first met Herb at the Nashville Flea Market. We kept bumping into each other looking for the same things. We had a very friendly rivalry and traded and sold to each other for years, talking on the phone at least once a week. Herb was an authentic character. He had an unflattering name for everyone, or in my case a sound as well. Whenever he would see me approaching he would start howling like a hound dog. He likened me to a hound dog who slept under the porch until I caught the scent of some prized item. Some people didn't like Herb as he loved stirring up trouble between people and then stepping back and enjoying the ensuing human drama. The one thing everyone agreed on was that Herb knew everything about photography. He had two world class photographic collections, one which was stolen by a local scoundrel over twenty years ago and another which has been dispersed throughout the Civil War collecting community, among those who wanted something to remember "ole Herb" by. He will forever be remembered by his friends and through all of the books which have reproduced Herb's images. Herb used to warn me that it was not my job to educate others but everything I learned about photography I learned from Herb Peck, whom I still miss.