The PERFECT Personalized Gift - Personalized Cartoons – Unique Gifts

Like a seasoned burglar, I crept into my luxurious eBay office space, making sure I didn't disturb the cat sleeping in the laundry room. One slight creek from my executive leather chair would send El Gato into a fit of screeching meow's that would wake the entire block, along with my slumbering family. I began to lower my tired bones onto the leather chair. A wry smile crossed my lips as I noticed my " rear end imprints" were still very visible and mocking me from below. I half expected the chair to still be warm. It wasn't.

As is my usual routine, I checked my auctions, read some emails and reviewed the web site stats. My auctions had new bids! One bid was from an East Coaster who obviously had stayed up even later than I the night before! (I'll bet he's not up yet!) Another bid came from someone in Canada. I was still too tired to check which part of Canada. But I had bids and that is always a good thing.

I looked around the room, hoping I could find something useful to do. Useful, yet quiet. My bleary eyes wondered to the window. The sun was just coming up and I was honored to watch the birth of a very odd morning sky! Foreshadowing you ask? Perhaps. You see, the thing about foreshadowing is it's easy to recognize as you are reading a book.... but when it is just part of the day, it's fleeting and hard to catch.

I was so captured by the color of the sky, I neglected to notice my 11 year old daughter stride into the room like a super model. How anyone can be that perky and cute at 6:30 in the morning is beyond me. Knowing full well the consequences of waking the cat, we shared a whispery "Good Morning" and sat down for a brief chat. When we finished talking, she asked if I needed any eBay help. In my earlier scan of the room I had noticed my handy bag of packing peanuts had been desperately depleted by a recent surge in VHS sales. My mind, (working a bit quicker now) focused on the large oblong box in the corner of the room.

I remembered how a neighbor gave this box to me just a few weeks ago. On that particular day, she was exchanging pleasantries with my next-door neighbor when she noticed me walking past and asked if I was still "into eBay". After a hardy "OF COURSE" from moi, she asked if I could make use of a rather large box filled to the brim with packing peanuts. She was just on her way to the recycling center to dispatch of the box and its countless tenants as it had been sitting idle in her attic for a few years. What eBay seller in his or her right mind could turn down such an offer? With a quick thank you, the box was mine and I happily headed back to my eBay domain.

Back to the story. The peanut bag needed refilling much like a withered flower needs water and I had just the thing! My daughter held the bag open while I began to pour from the box. It's funny, until then, I'd never stopped to think just how loud styrofoam peanuts could be. FYI, they are loud enough to wake a cat!

Ignoring the growing shrieks coming from the laundry room, we made progress and the box was getting empty. As I was maneuvering the uncooperative flaps in order to get the last wallflowers into the bag.... something jostled in the box that weighed significantly more than a packing peanut. Even the stoutest packing peanut couldn't produce that kind of sound! I kept pouring figuring whatever had made such a sound would eventually appear. But it never really did. As though it was invisible, the mystery item jump out of the box and landed in the bag. A "YOP" from my daughter alerted me to the fact that it had indeed transferred from box... to bag..... and on her foot! She survived.

Amazed but undaunted by this Houdini act, I gingerly bent over to fish through the bag now bursting with new indwellers. Somehow, my hand went right to the prize. It was heavy! I picked it up and looked at it. Confused at first, I rubbed my tired eyes then looked at my daughter. She had a strange and puzzled look on her face. It reminded me of the Grinch, when the Who's in Whoville sang their Christmas song..... even with no presents under their trees. As for me, I'd give my right arm to see the look on my face at that moment.

For in my hand, snatched from a large plastic bag.... dumped from its cardboard prison..... rescued from a date with the recycling center..... after years in the merciless heat and numbing cold of a North Carolina attic..... I held in my hand, a vial of shiny silver dollars.

All my life I've had dreams of finding coins. An insignificant quarter leads me to more loose change that leads to more and more and more until finally I realize that I've discovered an untapped vein of lost change. Just a dream... until today. Visions of great riches dance in my head. Fast cars, new clothes and fine dining will all surely be a result of this dream come true!!

My daughter still had a puzzled look on her face! She asked how much they were worth. I had no idea but assured her that we could get some idea from the very venue that provided me with the packing peanut box in the first place. EBAY. As I turned and headed for my trusty computer some quick research, pure elation was literally jettisoned from my soul like a slingshot. Only to be replaced by one clear thought. It had only been about fifteen seconds since I had laid my eyes on this beautiful bounty. Instead of My Fifteen Minutes.... I got fifteen seconds.

My daughter saw the smile fade from my face. I didn't even give her time to ask why..... I told her what I knew had to be done. "We have to give them back"

I'm amazed at how quickly I went from FULL THROTTLE to basically bummed! All over a cylinder of silly silver. My subsequent research showed that the ten silver dollars (ranging in dates from as early as 1879 to 1923) could have been worth anywhere from $50 to $1,000+ each! I never thought much about being a Numismatist, but at that moment I was glad I didn't know enough to be any more precise in my estimation.

I had to give them back. I knew it in my soul and therefore decided to employ the "When life hands you lemons..... make lemonade" theory. I may be out $10,000 - but maybe, just maybe I can use this situation to teach both my kids a valuable life lesson. Today's lesson children: Sometimes doing the right thing isn't particularly fun!

I won't bore you with the clever construction of how I tested my kids to see if they understood the situation. I'll just proudly tell you that both of them knew what had to be done and agreed 100% - that the ill gotten booty had to be returned to its rightful owners. I've got good kids!

Now you may be wondering what in the world all of this has to do with this particular packing peanut. That would be a great question! You see, this little peanut was clinging onto the vial of Silver Dollars when I pulled it from the bag. Clinging on for dear life! I actually had to physically "pick" it off to remove it. I tried flicking, shaking and blowing on it! I did not want to separate itself from that money.

The way I see it, as a good deed was done, this packing peanut represents good Karma and/or Feng Shui. I've performed my Good Samaritan act so I don't need the special powers this little guy must surely possess. But someone out there does! I've photographed PP from a few different angles to show the depth of personality and character rarely seen in a packing peanut.

This is a serious auction here folks..... there is no likeness of the Virgin Mary on this peanut.... I removed any and all belly button lint from it. This is a packing peanut that is packed with GOOD VIBES and HAPPINESS. There is only ONE. He is special... He is unique... and he could be yours.

The end!