07 May, 2022

Wow Jodie, this is definitely a momentous day for sure!! (smile) We had a great phone conversation as you were cruising to Portsmouth, VA this morning. It was one of the “7- Guaranteed Phone Calls” we make each year….today is Birthday #49. Goodness, where do the years go??

I thought it would be really cool to finally get back into writing more of the Chronicle installments inasmuch as 1) a number of folks have been very complimentary after they’ve seen the photos and read some of them, and 2) it did me a lot of good to hear you say you thought I should go ahead and write more. I had actually determined that I was ready to resume writing sometime around the middle of last month, but thought….”No, I’ll begin writing again on May 7th, that’ll be 10 years from the date of the initial Chronicle installment!” So-o-o-o here we are!!

It’s kinda cool too because this represents the 3rd time an installment will be written on your B-Day. The first was in 2012….the second was in 2015. Okay, so I’ve not been the most prolific at turning these out as I saw that the actual date of my last installment was January, 2021….I do intend now to try to knock out one every week (yeah, right!!). Don’t really know if I’ll have the discipline (sigh), but I don’t think it’ll be too hard if I get into the groove of it….we’ll see. (smile)

When I started to think about which of the pieces I would write about, and what title would accompany it. I remembered that originally, we talked about bringing my glass collecting to an end because I was running out of room to display them, and I was beginning to wonder if the place was starting to look cluttered. I found one more Horse Head and had decided that it would indeed be my last purchased piece. With over 200 items then in the collection, I was fine with calling it a day on that little hobby.

You, on the other hand, didn’t believe that for a minute. I remember you telling me “Dad, you’re not done yet, something else is gonna catch your eye….you’re gonna see some Big Cat, or a Sailboat, and you’re gonna try to figure out where to put it! You’re not finished yet…you should just get the stuff you see that you want!” That turned out to be pretty on point, ‘cause since then a number of other items have found their way into my “supposedly ended glass gathering activity”!! (ha,ha,ha,ha)

The most interesting way I thought to resume the writing was to feature the “Charcoal Feathered Stallion” (the supposed last piece) and change the original title, “Ridin’ off into the Sunset” to the title I’ve gone with here. (smile) Okay, so where exactly did I get this beautiful 12-inch-tall Horse Head with its awesome flowing Mane treatment?? If I remember correctly, it was the result of one of my bidding war exercises on e-bay!! (ha,ha,ha,ha)

You’ve seen me deal with those Jodie and you’ve talked me through a number of my last-minute losses!! (ha,ha,ha,ha) You’ve also seen how pleased I am when I learn that I landed a piece that really intrigued me enough to enter the doggone bidding in the first place. I certainly prefer to be able to purchase a piece without having to go into an anxiety laced competitive exercise. (AGH!!)

Anyway….I had planned to write some anecdotal installment describing how much I’d enjoyed collecting my glass over the years and how now I was going to have the pleasure of simply looking at them. How I’d take nice trips down memory lane as I recount the many stories behind the glass and so on.

What I’m finding is that 1) I’m obviously not done collecting yet….and 2) I’m not so sure that I remember exactly how I acquired each item, and I better get my act together and start writing more often before I truly forget the wonderful memories they trigger when I look at them!! (hmm) That alone should serve to be incentive and catalyst to inspire me to write once a week….I think that’ll remain to be seen!! (smile)

All in all, “the Ride hasn’t ended, and the Sun hasn’t set” because right off the top of my head I can count 10 additional items that I’ve been challenged to find display spots for. I guess if that’s the biggest problem I’m having these days with the glass, I shouldn’t complain. Oh Yeah….perhaps I do allow myself to lament how extensive an exercise it is to clean them whenever I decide to do so.

It’s actually a pretty big undertaking, and usually gets interesting because when I take the pieces off the shelves to wash them, I go into a whole “redesign, re-layout exercise” trying to make a different display diorama. (smile) Apparently though Jodie if the activity wasn’t bringing me joy and pleasure, I certainly wouldn’t have reason to continue it, so obviously I’ve not truly been ready to see the Sun set on my glass collecting…or my writing for that matter!!

I’m pretty pleased with myself at having written 951 words while resuming the Crystal Chronicles on your birthday!! Darn it….I shoulda gone for 1,000. (ha,ha,ha,ha) I hope you’ll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed diving back into the writing of it again. Maybe the best way to bring this exercise to a close is to indeed declare that….”The Ride’s Not Ending and the Sun’s Not Ready to Set!”

Hope you had a Very Happy 49th Sweetheart!!