OT: UNfortunate occurances

[J Miller]

Last weekend in IN we had a great time. But Murphy was there and on duty. He watched over us and saw that there wasn't much he could mess with at the range. But he bided his time and waited for just the right moment.

I have a pen and pencil set I bought about 12 years ago in Phoenix when things were better. The set is a Pelikan Sovereign 800 fountain pen with matching ball pen and pencil. About $800.00 worth back then, don't know what they cost now.
I've used them continuously since I bought them.
You can see them in my pocket when I was shooting IJ.

Me and IJ.JPG

At the hotel we unloaded that which we needed to bring in and I set the Pathfinder's alarm in case anybody got greedy. Proceeded to empty my pockets before showering and bed. As I pulled the pens from my pocket I didn't know the fountain pen had unscrewed itself in the cap. The cap pulled the pen out of my pocket and the pen body went flying. It landed on the table by the bed and skated into the wall, 18K gold point first. The pen is now badly damaged and Murphy is laughing his butt off.

I didn't say anything Sunday, what was there to say? But for the last couple days I've been emailing places around the country that can fix pen nibs. It ain't gonna be cheep. Anywhere between $70.00 to $100.00 to straighten and align the nib tines.

Now for the coincidental part of this little story. I contacted a place in California that does repairs. The nice gal who answered me actually sympathized with me for what happened. Then signed her name ... Jonella. Jonella is my moms name. In all the years I've been alive she was the only person I ever heard of with this name. It really caught me off guard and I about fell off my chair. I lost mom in '01 and I guess I still haven't gotten over that. I told Jonella in CA about the name and she said that she had always thought she was the only one until she met a set of twins and was named Jonella. Now there are three.

I'm thinking I'll send my pen to CA for repairs.

Joe

[mescalero1]

Pretty common in the panhandle of Texas, Joe

[JReed]

There ya go I would say that is a sign for sure.

[Hobie]

Joe,

I think that if you pay attention there are a lot more such "coincidences" than you might realize.

I was talking to a gent that comes in the militaria shop just about once a month. After 6 years he was telling me about his 2x great grandfather at the brickyard in Gettysburg. Ummm, MY 2x great grandfather was at the brickyard in Gettysburg on the same day but on the opposite side... Now, 146 years later their grandsons are friends.

I think you're right to send the pen to CA.

[Old Ironsights]

Whew. I'm sorry about the damage to your pen, but for a minute I thought you were going to say you dropped it on the range and I didn't find it on my sweep...

Good luck with the repair. I hope they do ya good.

[J Miller]

Whew. I'm sorry about the damage to your pen, but for a minute I thought you were going to say you dropped it on the range and I didn't find it on my sweep...

Good luck with the repair. I hope they do ya good.

OI, Had I lost it there, I would have turned around and headed right back. I could burn a lot of gas before I equal the cost of that pen.

Joe

[brucew44guns]

You better be careful Joe, pretty soon----if you talk to her 2 or 3 more times---she will end up owing you money Good you found a place for repair on it.

[J Miller]

I'm not sure who's gonna owe who money. I just found out a new nib for that pen costs somewhere around $175.00. OUCH!!!!!!!

Joe

[mescalero1]

Joe,
Everytime I took out my pocketwatch in England, I had chicks fawning all over me, got uncomfortable, quit checking the time.

[J Miller]

Joe,
Everytime I took out my pocketwatch in England, I had chicks fawning all over me, got uncomfortable, quit checking the time.

I got pocket watches too. But my wife gets all p.o.'d if any chicks get near me.
And all my watches need serviced. Nobody local to do that, the only guy around here croaked.

[bogus bill]

Not my story, but a good friend of mine. When he was a teenager in lousianna durring world war 11, they lived in a area where army aircore practiced airbatics. A pilot evidently lost his pen in a manuever and it landed on their lawn. There was a name of captain,- someone on it. He still has it.

[Old Ironsights]

I'm not sure who's gonna owe who money. I just found out a new nib for that pen costs somewhere around $175.00. OUCH!!!!!!!

Joe

Your pens use Nibs?

My watch is a sundial and my pens are carved from goose quils...

[JReed]

And your the only guy I know shooting 4F BP in a .357Mag.

[Old Savage]

Get a BIC.

[J Miller]

Get a BIC.

Ewwww, talk about zero class ......

Got lots of junque pens floating around here, but I've used fountain pens since I was young enough to go to Catholic school and annoy the nuns. I'm not about to stop now.

Joe

[mescalero1]

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.............................
Catholic school
Nuns
..............................................................................
Horrible memories
Think thats why I am still single!

[Old Savage]

Joe, you took a collector's item out where you messed it up, HOW SMART WAS THAT?

[Ysabel Kid]

Sorry to hear about the pen Joe!

[J Miller]

Joe, you took a collector's item out where you messed it up, HOW SMART WAS THAT?

Not a collectors item at all. They are still in current production. Just high dollar goodies, like our guns.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.............................
Catholic school
Nuns
..............................................................................
Horrible memories
Think thats why I am still single!

Well, I guess I got the only good nun at Saint Marys Catholic School in Phoenix. Sister Mary Paul Francis. I'd guess she was in her mid 20's in 63. Still young enough to have a sense of humor.
There were some others though that could have bottled and sold bitchiness. WOW, being around them to long would stunt ones social growth.


Joe

[mescalero1]

Unfortunatly, I think it did.

[Rusty]

For my 50th birthday my wife asked me what I wanted. I told her a Mont Blanc, only I wanted the ball point version. I wear it to church on Sunday, my only jewelry I wear. It writes pretty fair too. Almost as good as the Parker T Ball Jotter I carry every day. When my dad passed in '73 he had a drawer full of those Cross ball point pens. He was a doctor and people would give him those things all the time. He always liked the T Ball jotter and I see why.

[El Chivo]

Not my story, but a good friend of mine. When he was a teenager in lousianna durring world war 11, they lived in a area where army aircore practiced airbatics. A pilot evidently lost his pen in a manuever and it landed on their lawn. There was a name of captain,- someone on it. He still has it.

I think he should look up the captain and go return it to him, and see what happens. A good story for USA Today.

[J Miller]

For my 50th birthday my wife asked me what I wanted. I told her a Mont Blanc, only I wanted the ball point version. I wear it to church on Sunday, my only jewelry I wear. It writes pretty fair too. Almost as good as the Parker T Ball Jotter I carry every day. When my dad passed in '73 he had a drawer full of those Cross ball point pens. He was a doctor and people would give him those things all the time. He always liked the T Ball jotter and I see why.

Rusty,
I have a Mont Blanc fountain pen and ball pen in my collection too. Not sure why but I just never could warm up to them. I've got more Parker T-Ball Jotters than I can count, quite a few variations, and I still have the first one I ever bought too. That was way back in high school.
I've got a couple of Cross pens. They are way too skinny for me.
I've got Sheaffers, Parkers, Esterbrooks - remember them, Chiltons, Diamond Medal, and others. At one time I had well over 300 pens pencils and ephemera in my collection. Had to sell some off back in '01 to fund the trip back to AZ to take care of my moms remains. Still need to do an inventory of what's left.
My favorite ball pen is a sterling silver Parker 75 push cap. Beautiful pen. Maybe I should dig it out.


Old Savage chided me about taking collectible pens to the range, well to me they are to be used, same as my guns. Carefully and with consideration to what they are, but used none the less. One of the fountain pens I use a lot is a Parker Senior Dufold made in 1928. Yep, over 80 years old and still going strong. I have others near that vintage from other makers that I use occasionally as well.
What I have never understood is what is the good of having something and not using it? Safe queens weather guns or pens or antique cars have no value to me at all. They just waste space unless I can use them.

The fact that the pen unscrewed itself from the cap and I didn't know about it is what annoys me the most. That could have happened anywhere. It just happened this trip at the hotel. The location of the occurrence is unimportant.
Once it's fixed I'll just have to remember that it's happened before and could happen again.

I wonder what Jonella in CA looks like?

Joe

[Old Savage]

Joe - I have a small collection of Parkers too. I specialized in the Big Red, several colors. We have BICs Round Stics at the office - I will have to break it to my wife that they have no class. I have a Cross skinny gold one I carry that I carry. It went through the washer one time. I was cross. I had to rehabilitate to work again. It is the 18K model.

[J Miller]

Joe - I have a small collection of Parkers too. I specialized in the Big Red, several colors. We have BICs Round Stics at the office - I will have to break it to my wife that they have no class. I have a Cross skinny gold one I carry that I carry. It went through the washer one time. I was cross. I had to rehabilitate to work again. It is the 18K model.

That I can relate too. I think I'd be cross if I washed an 18K pen too. It's bad enough when I've washed a Parker T-Ball. That inky stuff is just flat icky. Oh you know what works great for getting ball pen ink out of pens with leaky fillers?

Hoppe's #9.

Yep, works great. It dissolves the oil in the ink and flushes it right out. Doesn't hurt the plastic inside either. At least it never has in the pens I've cleaned with it.

I've got several old Parker Duofolds, but none of the older Big Reds. Always wanted one, but never found one I could afford. I've also wanted one of the orange Senior Duofolds to go with my black one, but all I got is a Junior. Nice pens to write with. Not like many of the modern versions.

Joe

[Old Savage]

Joe - who da thought I have a couple still in the drawer I used to carry one all the time in office in the late 70s and I had them next to the kids laying on a blanket as a kind of joke - Bob is 32 now.

http://www.jackbergsales.com/writing/parkerbigred.htm

[piller]

Joe, if you are pleased with the results when you get the pen back, then you need to post pictures and the address of the repair place. I have an old Parker which was my Dad's H.S. graduation gift. It needs a repair to the ink tank. With as much writing as I do at work, a fountain pen would sure make my day easier. For anyone reading who doesn't know, fountain pens are the easiest things to write with that were ever made. Smooth as a well broke in Henry and require no pressure.

[J Miller]

Joe - who da thought I have a couple still in the drawer I used to carry one all the time in office in the late 70s and I had them next to the kids laying on a blanket as a kind of joke - Bob is 32 now.

http://www.jackbergsales.com/writing/parkerbigred.htm

Fred, I'm getting old. When stuff from the 60s and 70s is considered vintage .... I'm getting old.

Joe, if you are pleased with the results when you get the pen back, then you need to post pictures and the address of the repair place. I have an old Parker which was my Dad's H.S. graduation gift. It needs a repair to the ink tank. With as much writing as I do at work, a fountain pen would sure make my day easier. For anyone reading who doesn't know, fountain pens are the easiest things to write with that were ever made. Smooth as a well broke in Henry and require no pressure.

Piller,
What vintage and model is your Dads Parker? Some of them are incredibly easy to fix, others are a bit more complicated. I pretty much do my own bladders, diaphrams, and filling units, but nibs are a bit beyond my skill level.
Parkers are pretty durable too. There is a possibility it might just need soaked and flushed out. I've bought a lot of "broken" pens that just needed cleaned.

The outfit I'm thinking of is:
http://www.nibs.com/mainpage.html
You might check them out. There are others out there too.

Joe

[Travis Morgan]

Joe,
Everytime I took out my pocketwatch in England, I had chicks fawning all over me, got uncomfortable, quit checking the time.

I got pocket watches too. But my wife gets all p.o.'d if any chicks get near me.
And all my watches need serviced. Nobody local to do that, the only guy around here croaked.

Same here.

[J Miller]

Well, I found some good news. I kept digging and searching and I found Pelikans home page. In there I found the "contact us" link and contacted them. The gave me the link to the US company that does authorized repairs and service. Emailed them and they said, no charge for repairs to the original purchaser. Oh goodie goodie!! I'm the original purchaser, so it's going to MA. In 4 to 6 weeks I should have my pen back with a new nib. I also asked them to check the cap because it has a crack or a chip inside and that might be what allowed it to unscrew.

I'll post again when it gets back with some before and after pics.

Joe

[Old Ironsights]

Good news. I like warrantees like that.

[Old Savage]

All's well that ends up back in the ink well.