You have probably heard that old saying, “There’s no fool like an old fool,” but you weren’t quite sure what it meant. I didn’t either until I was faced with reality.
For 48 years, I treasured my silver trays. They were beautiful, ornate, and frequently cleaned. I took great care of them. I not only had silver trays that had been given to my husband and myself as gifts by churches that he pastored, but I had bowls, candy dishes, and even huge candelabra, and a chaffing dish…all silver.
Years ago when I first married, I bought a hutch to display all my expensive treasures. With the silver trays and objects in the public view when guests came over, that meant I had to constantly clean the tarnish off the silver. I faithfully did that once a month and took excellent care of it all.
My mother-in-law was extremely proud of her silver flatware and carefully washed and dried each piece by hand before putting it back into it’s wooden, lined box. She handed it down to me and I was so honored. I seldom used them, only on special occasions, but I too was very careful with the pieces.
As time went by, I told my daughters-in-law that when I died they would inherit all of my silver. They just looked bored. That’s when I realized that my silver had gone out of style and so had my hutch.
I donated my hutch to a church and wrapped my silver in plastic. It went up into the attic for safekeeping. I had already decided that whenever the price of silver went back up, I would sell it all.
Well, the price of silver went up, so I went into the attic to fetch it all down. I weighed the entire bundle, and it came out to 23 pounds!
I went to my husband, and he looked up the price.
“Honey,” he shouted excitedly. “If we get just 75 percent of the going rate for silver, then for all of your 23 pounds of your stuff, we will make $25,000!”
Now, you all know my luck, and so do I, so I was skeptical. There was no way I was going to get $25,000 from an appraiser for my silver dishes, but I certainly knew I would get a hefty sum. So I was excited and ready to sell it all.
Off we went to the appraiser with dreams of me taking the entire family to Disney World.
Upon arrival, the appraiser slowly checked each piece carefully and then apologized. “I am so sorry, but all of this has silver plating. It’s completely worthless…unless you sell it for the metal and you will probably get a dollar a pound,” he said.
I was speechless. Dumbfounded. Shocked. Horrified. “Do you have any idea how many years I have cleaned and polished this crap thinking it was complete silver through and through?” I was starting to shout. “Do you know how many mean people in churches I had to tolerate to get a silver tray ‘in appreciation for your years of service’ only to be told it’s worthless?” The appraiser began to back up a little as he kept repeating that he was sorry.
I stared down into the boxes full of the pretty silver metal trash. That’s when I noticed there was a tiny little bag in the corner, and I remembered that I had thrown that in at the last minute. It contained a ring that they cut off in the ER once, a few tangled and knotted necklaces, and several earrings missing their partner. Since I didn’t know any pirates, I threw the single earrings in the bag.
Suddenly the appraiser looked interested and eyed each piece. Surprisingly, he gave me $400 for that tiny 2 inch bag of junk.
As we left the store with my dishes clanking in the trunk, my husband asked me if I was disappointed. What a stupid question. Of course I was disappointed. But at least I had $400 and that was better than nothing. I was grateful to God for the unplanned money and felt a little happier.
My husband urged me to spend that money on myself, and I was rather excited about that for a whole hour…until leaving the parking lot, we drove straight to the grocery store where I spent $300.
Disappointed? What a dumb question.
