The Bittersweet #13, a Filarmonica-based friendship
SRAD happens. You can't predict when the disease will strike. Heck, I got struck twice this past week. The second purchase was a new razor, so there's not much of a story there...well, yet. It's the first purchase that hit me straight away (sorry) Monday morning when I settled into my office chair. As is the case with work, I am sure to check SRP first thing, Outlook second. ;)
Somehow, I wandered over to Classifieds from the Forum area knowing full-well I should not be buying any more razors this month. But, hey, what's the harm in window-shopping, right? I'm just....LOOKING. This just after I lamely told my girlfriend that the Oak Wing was the last razor purchase for some time. No, really. The last one for a good, long time as I have some large, looming bills to pay.
To my utter amazement, in the razors area, I spy a one-owner Filarmonica #13 for sale and immediately bought the blade well before weighing the pros and cons of the purchase. Total impulse buy, much like the second razor, but again that's not this story. :)
GSSixGun had told me about a Filarmonica #13 he had just put together for BenjaminBarker and what a great shavers they are known to be. Storied, legendary...all that. Therefore, I must own one I told myself! Little did I know that ownership would come within 2 short weeks, sadly because the razor's former owner now finds shaving with straights more difficult with each passing day.
He's forced into selling his prized razors rather than watching them collect dust and go unused. I would likely make the same decision were I to find myself in the same spot, so I can completely empathize with him. I'm that way with folks I care for. Plus, he's also saving up for some book research he needs to do by traveling to Chicago, where my father was born. We had made a connection.
Anyway, I didn't just buy a #13. Obie and I e-mailed one another several times over the week as the razor eventually wound up in my hot little hands, halfway across the country.
That's what amazes me about the internet and shaving. I don't have to live in a large city to have such a rich treasure trove of friends from which to choose. No, finally, I found through a humble board and some razor purchases, that there are other individuals out there just as crazy and passionate about shaving as I am. No chips on shoulders. How refreshing!
So, well, I'm not a writer by trade like Obie, and it's time to wrap up my story. I'm going to read "Obie's Opus" once the copy I bought arrives. Heck, I figured its about time I read something that doesn't involve shaving.
That's it. SRAD happens, and sometimes it's a little bittersweet and has very little to do with money or objects. I've got a great, new friend. Thanks, Obie!
Cheers!
/Mark
