So tonight was the weekly auction here in my town of residence. I make it a point to go there, and often pick up small items for resale. I've had it in my head now for a year or so that I wanted a metal lathe. So tonight was the night. There she was. A vintage Sears Craftsman metal lathe. No tooling to speak of, but it looked like a perfect learning experience tool. And being at the local auction virtually promised a nice deal. Anyhow it was one of the last items to sell ofc. All night long I watched this little punk kid fiddling with the controls, unscrewing and rescrewing adjustment knobs. On and on...the kid acted like he owned the thing. I was a little perturbed. As I already considered it "mine", and didn't want this kid taking anything off it in all his tinkering. I watched him closely, and wondered where his parents were that they'd allow him to play with all the merchandise so flagrantly. I figure it's one thing to make sure everything works. It's another to play with the darned thing all night long. At any rate, 3 hours into auction, it comes up for bid. Starts at 25, and GUESS who's bidding against me? The little punk kid. Can't be more than 13 years old. He keeps the heat on, and I drop out at 160. I justify it by telling myself, well, he ain't got rent to pay. Darn I wanted that thing. lol. So, I guess it WAS a learning experience. Kids got money too, and when they want something...may as well give up early. I console myself now by saying maybe someday that kid'll be a really great machinist. And this will be his beginnings. But more than likely, I'll see it on craigslist next week for 500 bucks. Argh!!!