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Talk About Touching the Past!
Two Funny Tales About Dad
When you visit a historical building, do you have to fight off the temptation to reach across those velvet ropes and touch something? Dad was like that.
Sometimes, Dad came very close to getting himself in trouble when visiting historical dwellings. Now and then. Not because he was trying to steal. Not because he hated rules. Not because he wanted to damage something. But because he was curious.
The Silver Cups of Temptation!
Years ago, Mum and Dad attended a tour of a New England mansion. They were at the tail-end of the group, so they always came into the featured room last — and left the room last. This gave Dad an … opportunity.
Then, in one room, the tour guide showed off a table that had been set as if people were going to enter from the past and start eating a fancy meal. The tour guide announced that the silver cups on the table were by Paul Revere!
How often do you get to see actual Paul Revere silverware, even in New England? I can’t remember the last time I did so. It’s rare all over the world. In 2021, a single spoon by Paul Revere hit a record of $32,500, the most ever spent on a single spoon. So Paul Revere silverware is rare, valuable, and precious.
So maybe that’s why Dad was skeptical when the tour guide said they had Paul Revere silverware. So he decided that he had to check the bottom to be sure. If he could just see the Paul Revere mark on one of the cups, his doubts would be set aside.
So he waited after the tour guide took the group into the next room. (I mean at least he waited until the tour guide was in the other room.) I’m sure he waited for Mum to go into the next room, too. (Because she would have given him one of those looks.)
Dad lingered behind. And very carefully leaned over (probably against a barrier and velvet ropes) and picked up one of the cups to peek at the bottom.
Not realizing that … the entire set was wired together!
Clang!
He set the silver cup down quickly and rejoined the tour. Luckily, no one heard the noise — and the tour guide didn’t realize what Dad had done.