Lost Keys And Quirky Antiques

Terry had an appointment at Pickens County Primary Care yesterday for an ultrasound on her thyroid, part of trying to figure out what was making her so sick a few weeks ago. The nice tech that was doing the procedure told her she had one of the prettiest little thyroids around. What else would you expect from the prettiest girl in town?

When we were done there, we drove a few miles west into Mississippi to check out some of the antique shops in Columbus. Our first stop was at a big antique mall that had all kinds of vendor booths with some interesting things on display. But like so many antique malls these days, everything seemed overpriced. Or maybe I’m just cheap, I don’t know.

We didn’t find anything that interested us enough to buy there, but then a Google search led us to a place called Quirky Antiques at 202 N 2^nd Street. As soon as we pulled up in front of the small shop we knew we had found the kind of place we loved browsing through. A couple of old guys were sitting out front shooting the breeze and made us feel welcome right away.

The first thing that caught my eye was this beautiful 1922 Ford Model A flatbed truck. Since I’ve got a birthday coming up in a couple of days, I thought it would be really nice of Miss Terry to buy it for me. But apparently I haven’t been that good of a boy this year. Or any year, as far as that goes. 😊

Inside, the store was crowded with all kinds of antiques, from glassware and old juke boxes to lamps, primitives, tools, and cans, all from a bygone era. The place may not be laid out as neat and fancy as an antique mall, think more Sanford and Son, but we had a lot of fun prowling through the shop. Terry found a few goodies, including some old Corning Ware pie plates and a couple of beautiful old cobalt blue bottles.

There were also some really cool old steel wheels from wagons and tractors. I’ve wanted a couple of them to put at the end of our driveway and when Fred, the owner, told me he had even more outside, I went to check them out. When I found these two there was no question that they had to come home with me.

Fred just turned 80, and he is a very nice man who we really enjoyed getting to know. You can check out Quirky Antiques on Facebook, and if you are in Columbus, stop by and say hello to our new friend Fred.

A while back I told you that we lost the key to our Husqvarna riding lawn mower, and after looking everywhere under the sun, I gave up and went to a Husqvarna shop in Northport and purchased two more keys. Fred probably thought I had lost my mind when I opened the tailgate of the truck so we could put the wheels in the back and started laughing, because there was the darn key lying right there in plain sight. Mystery solved, and now we have plenty of Husqvarna keys to go around.

We had worked up an appetite after all that antique shopping, and our friend Justin Abrams had told us to check out the Hibachi Buffet in Columbus. I have really missed having a good Chinese buffet, so that was our final stop in town. This was another great find for us. The selection was huge, everything was hot and fresh, and we both overindulged. But that’s what you’re supposed to do when you go to a buffet, right? We will definitely be going back to Columbus to eat there again, and to stop and see Fred at Quirky Antiques.

It was a 40 minute drive home, which really isn’t any longer than it takes to drive into Tuscaloosa, and all of it was on US Highway 82, which is a four lane divided road for most of the way. An easy trip.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Tinder Street, the first book in my Tinder Street historical series starting just before World War I that will eventually end during the Vietnam War days. This first book in the saga that will take readers from rural farms to a major industrial city in the Midwest, across an ocean where German U-boats lurk waiting for a target to come within range of their deadly torpedoes, to the bloody trench warfare of France, and home again. And of how, back at home, the soldiers of a victorious army try to put their experiences behind them and pick up the pieces of the lives they once had, to look toward a future bright with promise. Lucas Wirtz was one of those soldiers, a simple farm boy who hated the thought of killing but did his duty. A duty that would haunt him long after the last shots were fired.

This is also the story of the simple working-class people who built America. Farmers, factory workers, streetcar conductors, midwives, and public servants. Their joys and sorrows, their wins and losses, and how these people who struggled together to build a better life for themselves and their children changed a place named Tinder Street to Tender Street, a reflection of one family’s devotion to their neighbors.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 90 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. If you go to Cooter Brown’s for ribs, don’t even think about any of that pumpkin spice nonsense.

Thought For The Day – Be the person your dog thinks you are.