My Favorite Antique Shop

My wife and I decided to take a drive to the little town of Fallbrook, California because we heard they had a number of antique shops.  We visited several shops before stopping at Kirk’s Antiques.  We walked in and were immediately greeted by a very gracious gentleman.  He welcomed us and invited us to look around. It turned out he was actually welcoming us into his house because he actually lived there as well!  He had a very diverse selection of antiques and, unlike many shops you might go into today, everything actually was an antique!  As we browsed and asked questions, we were amazed that he had a story to tell for every piece in his shop.  Not just where he got it, but the background and history and anything else you could imagine.  He asked what we collected and we told him a few things, one being whistles.  Well he brought out a whistle that was just an amazing, hand carved folk-art piece. I asked how much and he said that one was not for sale.  He was saving it for his daughter.  This was disappointing but we continued to walk around and selected a few other items that we were interested in.  When it came time to pay, I asked which credit cards he took and he said that he was sorry but he did not take credit cards.  He did take checks but I had not brought my checkbook and did not have the cash either.  Needless to say, it was disappointing because we were not planning to make the drive back to his shop again in the near future.  And then he said the words that just blew me away.  “Go ahead and take it home and just send me a check.”  After my wife picked my jaw off the floor I managed to say,” You are kidding, right?”  He replied that he was absolutely serious.  He said we looked like people that could be trusted and was just glad that we had found some pieces that we really liked.  So, we took our new treasures home and could not get to the post office fast enough to send a check!  We continued to visit Kirk’s Antiques a number of times after that and always left with a new treasure…and a story to go along with it.  He always brought out that whistle to show me as well, but it was still not for sale.   Some years later, he called me to let me know that he was in a bind and needed to sell some pieces that he had been holding on to, including that amazing folk-art whistle he had shown me on our first visit.  Needless to say, I bought it and still own it today.  But sorry, it is not for sale!