I must admit to a lifelong obsession with dishes. In any shape. For any purpose. Singular. Or in a place setting. They call my name whenever I enter the home section of any department store. If I had a dollar for every time someone has made fun of the look I get when flipping (ever so slowly) through a housewares catalogue...well, I could buy lots and lots more...dishes. Speaking of catalogues, has anyone else been in mourning since Williams Sonomas little jewel of a booklet stopped (abruptly) appearing in your mailbox? Come on...it cant be only me, people! And please dont get me started on outlet malls. Abundance PLUS discounts! To me this is more intoxicating than an endless Chinese buffet (with sushi)...and thats sayin something. I have been in outlets from coast-to-coast. Literally from sea to shining sea, and every damned State we passed through in between. I enjoyed (Hell, I reveled!) in them all. Repeatedly. Yet, there was always one-and only one-that truly owned my heart. My soul. My bank account. If I ever get to see Heaven on the horizon, I know that right behind those pearly gates will be a sign which reads Dansk Factory Outlet. Be assured that if there is a long line in front of St. Peter, I will-without hesitation-attempt to scale the wall...even in sandals. Deals are awaiting! For many many years I made the almost monthly pilgrimage to Kittery Maine-the true Lourdes for outlet addicts. So many of my friends went along with me that occasionally Scotty got a break...although he always asked me what he had missed when he stayed at home. Did he miss those white bags with the big black lettering that I was dragging through the door? Probably not. Then, there was Conway NH. A smaller store, yet very friendly indeed. I believe that the girls on the register knew Joette, Helen, Scotty and myself by name. Thank God both Joette and I had station wagons back in the day. Later, I found one in La Jolla CA. Scotty happily drove down us there, and wisely told Michael just to let me roam while he gave the novice his first tour. I heard him repeatedly telling Michael that we had better (translation: MUCH bigger) ones back home. He was right. Now, throughout the years, I had coveted a particular pattern that never appeared in any Dansk Outlet that I ever visited. It was named Arabesque, and was a wild pattern in bright blue and white. I only wanted the smaller plates; I DO have my preferences. I became so obsessed with finding them that my friend Barbara would always reply to her husband Tims questions as to why was I attempting to break into every Dansk storeroom with...She thinks theyre deliberately hiding the Arabesque from her. Im not so sure they werent, Barb! Then, as always happens, the pattern was discontinued. And then, fate-of-all-horrible-fates...Dansk closed its factory outlets altogether. I just had a slight palsy in having to type that. rEAlLy. Once, I had eleven sets of dishes. My lifelong friends know I am neither exaggerating nor bragging. Nor am I shamed by this. Not even a bit... I love those that I had. I adore those that Ive kept. But I never forgot the one that got away... Enter ebay! It has taken me more than a year, but last week a lovely woman from California listed six of those smaller dishes; I bought them before the hour was up! Out they came, arriving here on Tuesday. I prayed over the box, and found upon opening it that... AMAZINGLY...none had broken! I thanked the powers that be (out in the Great Universe of Never Forgotten Dreams) for my good fortune. And yet, addict that I am, I had to search for more. I found a very charming fellow in Columbia South Carolina who had initially had a dozen hed listed Wednesday, but someone had scarfed up five. This left seven (yes, I know you all can count) which along with my six would make...finish the addition. Now, heres the strange part... Scotty and I always bought our dishes in sets of thirteen. It really was his idea. He said that it gave us a buffer against breakage. I thought it was true genius! More dishes! Well, I have been promising Michael-and a few friends-that I would curtail (read, stop) purchasing items that: 1) Will be more excess baggage to someday pack 2) May not fit into our next (smaller) abode And most importantly: 3) May not find space in our present one So, I asked Michael if he thought that maybe I should get two or four more. He asked How many does he have? When told, he advised me to Get them all in case one ever breaks. I think he said it. I heard it come from his mouth. It sounded like him. Listen...I dont know if he was channeling Scotty, or has been with me so long that he can finish my thoughts, or what precisely happened. All I do know is that those little darlings are heading out to NC sometime tomorrow. Mission accomplished. I cant pretend that this makes up for the sadness of knowing that me and mine will never pass again through those welcoming doors reading Dansk. This solitary internet cant compare with those times of fun and laughter with all those I loved to spend time with. But what could? Take it from an addict. Sometimes you really do appreciate the things you have to wait for. Plus, you wont find what youre looking for if you give up the search. If youre lucky, you wont be searching alone. So, if your addiction isnt dangerous, but merely foolish... Well, theres no fool like an old fool. And Im a happy one tonight. Cause Im not thinking about just those dishes.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:43:00 +0000
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