The $10 Catch & Release

Catch & Release is a Real Big Deal in these parts.  There are SO many great fish and the fishermen are truly dedicated to the fish.  So "catch & release" is a way of life here.  People catch a lot of fish.  They release a lot of fish.  Hardly anybody catches fish to EAT fish any more.  They simply catch fish to release them.

We like the whole idea of catch & release.  But we don't fish.  We won't fish, either.  So, it was with great pleasure that we got to practice some catch & release today with a ten dollar bill.

First, we had to catch the ten dollar bill--I mean we really had to set the hook and have that puppy firmly on the line.  Then we had to actually land the ten dollar bill and have it in our hand.  And, then and only then, could we gently slip out the hook and release it back into the currency pool and wave it goodbye!

Hey, this catch and release stuff is FUN!  We're looking forward to some more of this stuff!

OK, here's how it unfolded.  A few weeks ago, we bought a great big ammo box at D-I, our fave t-store.  It was a 1952 wooden hand grenade fuse box in near pristine condition.  We paid two bucks and brought it home.  Unfortunately, the box never found a fit in any of our niches and spaces.  In fact, it was such a large box that I couldn't even find a place to properly store it.  It was always in the way and soon became annoying.  Yesterday, I had had it with this box and put it on Craigs List for $10.  BAM, as Emeril would say, somebody bit and they bit HARD.  They sent an email that didn't bicker or equivocate.  NOPE--they were coming here and buying that box TOOODAY!  Well, I was pretty jazzed and I finally got in contact with the woman via phone and she was so excited about the box she could hardly contain herself.  Man, I gotta say catching that ten dollars was really fun!  Well, then she told me the WHY of why she was going to buy the box come heck or high water.

As the story unfolded I listened intently and I simply told her, "This box is yours.  I will hold it for you and guarantee you get it.  Don't worry about it--it's yours."  She was profusely thankful and arrived practically on the dot late this afternoon to pick it up with the ten dollars in hand.

That's when I surprised her by saying, "This box is yours free, please take it with our gratitude!"  Well, of course, she and her husband were shocked and awed (even if it was only ten bucks, afterall).  And they were even more profusely thankful.

I have to tell you, I was so danged happy to give that box to them.  Ten dollars could never buy the feeling I felt in my heart and spirit.  What a gift to be able to give it away.

You see, their Dad is turning 80 tomorrow.  He enlisted in the US Army for the Korean War in 1952.  That's the date on this grenade fuse box--1952.  When she saw the date, she knew she had to have the box--just as we knew she was going to get it free!

We wrote out a nice Thank You card for Arden--that's his name--up in Saint Anthony.  We told him how much we appreciated his Service and thanked him for the opportunity to pass along the hand grenade fuse box.  We wished him a Happy Birthday and Best Wishes Always and All Ways.

WOW! I can guarantee you--we've never had so much fun catching and releasing a ten dollar bill!

Cheers, jp