Sunday, October 31, 2021
Graf Zeppelin
My dad was infatuated with Zeppelins. Specifically the Graf Zeppelin. LZ127.
he had a full set of first day stamps that "flew" on each of the zeppelins.. at one point, they were worth enough to stamp collectors to have paid off most of my college. They are in my safe now, he left em to me with a letter and instructions on what they were worth, and how to sell if I wanted to. Nah, they will go to Saul for sure. he can toss em.
When I was a kid, we went to Dallas one weekend every month to visit the grandparents. We would alternate staying with my maternal Grandmother, Grandfather and Aunt one month, then my paternal Grandmother the next month. Really, my folks loved seeing their parents, but they also would go out with friends, and leave us with the grandparents. a good arrangement.
every so often, I'd get to ride around with dad on Saturday. We went and did some errands for his mom, or hung out with Uncle Irving. Went to movies, went to the Jewlery shop (a pawn shop they knew the owner, he made my dad some awesome deals on high quality, but super ugly stuff my mom loved)
and on super-duper-special saturdays? -- just me and dad? --- we would stop at a hobby shop. I am not sure where it was, I think Highland Park. I know it was in a fancy-schmancy neighborhood, in an upscale strip shopping center. Sometimes he'd buy me a wood and paper kite that we would fly once we got home to longview. My pop was one of the best at rigging stick and paper kites. we could fly out as many rolls of string as we had.
anyhow, this hobby shop had a stick and tissue kit of the Graf Zeppelin. I think he wanted $40 for it, but in the 70s? money was a little tight, and dad would not just spend money willy-nilly, unless it was for stamps. Which, he collected, catalogued, resold, and had a nice profitable side-business from.
I can remember him hemming and hawing, asking the owner to drop the price $5. this went on for a few years. We would stop in, the same Graf Zeppelin model would be there. Pop would beg, the owner wouldn't budge, and the kit got dustier and dustier.
one weekend we went, and there was the dreaded "going out of business" sign. he was retiring, and no one wanted to run the shop for him. Half Price, CASH ONLY. --- dad did not have it, we drove like crazy to UNcle Irv's house to get cash, and drove back.... to see? a teenager walking out of the shop with the Zep under his arm.... Dad almost cried. ALMOST. He was super badass, and did not cry.
for years, he would tell the story of the Graf Zeppelin, and how he SHOULD have bought that kit.
flash forward a few years. Well, more than a few. I was out of college, married, divorced, moved to California... and? I saw a company, Megatech, was reproducing the Graf Zeppelin kit. I bought one INSTANTLY from Tower Hobbies online, and had it shipped to my dad.
Mom said he cried when he opened the box. He called me shortly after to thank me. And told me I was an okay son.
Do NOT spend your life wanting something, and let it slip through your hands
be a good kid, if your folks are still alive - buy that thing for them, if you can
may he rest in peace.
he had a full set of first day stamps that "flew" on each of the zeppelins.. at one point, they were worth enough to stamp collectors to have paid off most of my college. They are in my safe now, he left em to me with a letter and instructions on what they were worth, and how to sell if I wanted to. Nah, they will go to Saul for sure. he can toss em.
When I was a kid, we went to Dallas one weekend every month to visit the grandparents. We would alternate staying with my maternal Grandmother, Grandfather and Aunt one month, then my paternal Grandmother the next month. Really, my folks loved seeing their parents, but they also would go out with friends, and leave us with the grandparents. a good arrangement.
every so often, I'd get to ride around with dad on Saturday. We went and did some errands for his mom, or hung out with Uncle Irving. Went to movies, went to the Jewlery shop (a pawn shop they knew the owner, he made my dad some awesome deals on high quality, but super ugly stuff my mom loved)
and on super-duper-special saturdays? -- just me and dad? --- we would stop at a hobby shop. I am not sure where it was, I think Highland Park. I know it was in a fancy-schmancy neighborhood, in an upscale strip shopping center. Sometimes he'd buy me a wood and paper kite that we would fly once we got home to longview. My pop was one of the best at rigging stick and paper kites. we could fly out as many rolls of string as we had.
anyhow, this hobby shop had a stick and tissue kit of the Graf Zeppelin. I think he wanted $40 for it, but in the 70s? money was a little tight, and dad would not just spend money willy-nilly, unless it was for stamps. Which, he collected, catalogued, resold, and had a nice profitable side-business from.
I can remember him hemming and hawing, asking the owner to drop the price $5. this went on for a few years. We would stop in, the same Graf Zeppelin model would be there. Pop would beg, the owner wouldn't budge, and the kit got dustier and dustier.
one weekend we went, and there was the dreaded "going out of business" sign. he was retiring, and no one wanted to run the shop for him. Half Price, CASH ONLY. --- dad did not have it, we drove like crazy to UNcle Irv's house to get cash, and drove back.... to see? a teenager walking out of the shop with the Zep under his arm.... Dad almost cried. ALMOST. He was super badass, and did not cry.
for years, he would tell the story of the Graf Zeppelin, and how he SHOULD have bought that kit.
flash forward a few years. Well, more than a few. I was out of college, married, divorced, moved to California... and? I saw a company, Megatech, was reproducing the Graf Zeppelin kit. I bought one INSTANTLY from Tower Hobbies online, and had it shipped to my dad.
Mom said he cried when he opened the box. He called me shortly after to thank me. And told me I was an okay son.
Do NOT spend your life wanting something, and let it slip through your hands
be a good kid, if your folks are still alive - buy that thing for them, if you can
may he rest in peace.
# posted by cstatman : 12:47 PM
