Tuesday, February 21, 2012

What a Deal

I  started today much like any other. I was awake at 4:00 AM and went downstairs to make some coffee. While enjoying the quiet of the early hour, I decided to check my emails. One of the blogs I follow Whatsoever things are lovely My friend Debora writes about a box of axe heads she found in her closet. They were symbols of axes she thought that she needed to grind for deeds done aginst her in childhood. This made me start thinking about an old axe that I bought at a barn sale this past fall.
 I occasionally like to stop at old estate or barn sale to see what treasures I can find. This old axe caught my eye. When I picked it up, the old farmer said, "twenty bucks." I said. "That sounds kind of steep, I'll give you ten dollars."  He said. "Young man that axe belonged to Lizzie Borden." "A collectors item" I said.

 For those of you who are not fimiliar with the tale of Lizzie Borden she was a young woman in New England who was tried for killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet on August 4, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts. The murders, subsequent trial, and ensuing media trial, became a cause c'ele'bre. Although Lizzie Borden was aquitted, no one was ever arrested or tried and she has remained a notorious figure in American folklore.

The old rhyme popped into my mind...
Lizze Broden took an axe
gave her father fourty wacks
when she saw what she had done
she gave her mother fourty one.

I turned the axe over in my hands and the old farmer said I know why you're skeptical. the handle looks to new for an axe that old. Well he said the handle had been replace once or twice, so lets say fifteen dollars. I handed over the fifteen bucks and made my way to my car. As I walk to my car, I could hear the old farmer chuckle and mutter something under his breath about the axe head being replace once or twice too. I think I was skunked by the old timer.

There are two lessons to be learned. Debora's story taught me to let go of old debts and forgive.... I'm still working on trusting old farmers.
 Have a good day,
~OLD DOG~

3 comments:

  1. Great post! But isn't the thrill of buying something old sometimes in the unknown? I don't think anything from the past is worth ruining my day over!

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  2. Oh those darn farmers! But still, who knows what life your axe has lived?

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