A Personality Flaw...

 

MISSING IN ACTION

Crown Distilleries miniature, amber 5" tall, rare slug plate variant w/correct
Embossed Riley inside thread stopper.

 

Ok, I admit it, I'm not perfect. I've got lots of small flaws in my personality. Such is life. I've done my best to overcome these flaws as I've aged. My efforts have been successful most of the time. But I still have two glaring faults. And frankly, there's nothing that I can do about them.

You see, I HATE thieves. I know, HATE (bad word) - not very biblical, especially at this time of the year. Tough luck. And worse yet, I don't have an off switch. Yep, beneath this normally affable facade, white hair and smiles, lies the worst flaw I possess. You see, the fuse is long, but once lit, it's probably best not stick around to see the end result.

Auburn has been marked on my calendar for thirty some years. Mostly as an attendee as I could never seem to get a sales table and the waiting list was long. Friend, Steve Abbott, finally got my foot in the door four years ago. And my table location seemed like the cats meow; front and center, right across from the entry table.

Trouble is, my wife's schedule precludes her from attending. As such, I'm alone trying to meet and greet fellow collectors at the table, handle sales and watch my wares. Year one I had a glop top whiskey disappear to the tune of a grand. Yep, a thousand smackers. So much for breaking even after expenses. Year two, two bottles grew legs. The loss was significant; way / way over the first in terms of value. Not to mention the pissed off level.

And so, that brings us to 2012. Mike McKillop was good enough to move my location down to the lower building where I'd hoped to get a break from the thievery. Not! Friday afternoon saw Tom at the table in back of me loose a high dollar ink. Saturday greeted me with the theft of a rare variant of the Crown Distilleries miniature. No matter how much diligence one pays to their table, it appears that it's never enough. There are low life SOB's that seem to crawl out of the woodwork every year at this show.

I am, in a nutshell, fed up. I'm beyond pissed that some moron (or morons) feels that it's perfectly acceptable to steal. Did I mention that I HATE thieves?

The fuse is lit.

You (thief) will get sloppy. You (thief) will get caught in the act. You (thief) will attempt to escape being retained by us (that's right not just by me, as everyone is fed up) for the authorities. And when we are done "subduing you", the police will be the least of your worries.

As old pal Rick Simi just posted on the Western Bitters website; "You have been warned!"

No brag; just fact.