ANTIQUE DEALER - AUCTIONEER

"Fortune favors the brave" is a great quote. My entire life is one of a deep seated courage. Courage to do something when the end result is not known. Upon leaving the corporate culture I became a "free man"... free to do as I damned pleased in a world that is trying to tell you how to do it "their way." Not me... It's gonna be MY WAY. You've gotta have a lot of chutzpah to stand up to the World. I did and I did it successfully. I am talented in restoring antique houses. I found a beauty in total disrepair and this gave me two legs up in founding my antique enterprise. The Victorian house was built in 1867. It had classic lines as a Greek Revival with pilasters. It took 8 days of labor scraping off the peeling paint. Then two coats of English Ivory and Brilliant White decorated this Gem like a cake! I created an image of prosperity and people thought I had money! Gradually I brought the "Blair House" back to life. My neighbor, Raymond Bennett said "You've accomplished the Impossible, Bob" in restoring the house. That made me feel good and "Flexible" became my dear friend helping me to move furniture. Less than two years in business I hit the jackpot! Silver coins were speculated by the Hunt Brothers and coin dealers and I rode the bull all the way to the finish line! I earned a year's pay in a month. I was rich and began to travel with my sons, Ben and Josh. We went to Niagara Falls, Ottawa,Toronto and Miami that Summer. It was great to be able to do these things with my children.I was becoming like Johnny Cash singing "I've been everywhere, Man!" And that was just the beginning. The following Summer we took a fantastic trip by our 1977 Oldsmobile to New Orleans to the American Numismatic Convention then up to St. Louis, then west to Kansas City. the trip was about 5,400 miles. I attended Missouri Auction School for two weeks training. I came back a full fledged auctioneer but I couldn't really talk fast. This would come in time. My risk was paying off and I was a happy Camper!" My next blog will cover some of my spectacular Estate Auctions I've staged over the years. Bye Bye!