RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1240 Copyright © Rinker Enterprises, Inc.
2010
Another Grand Adventure
Life is an adventure.
Mine certainly is.
It will be until I die.
Even then, who knows?
While most people are retired by my age (I am 69),
I plan to keep working into my eighties or, God willing, into my nineties.
Susie Barbour, a former KDKA radio
personality and friend, is responsible for my “life is an adventure” approach to
living.
When I learned that I had been
selected to host HGTV’s
Collector Inspector,
Susie said, “Treat the first year as an adventure.
Go and have fun.
Do not worry about a second season.
Enjoy the moment.”
I followed Susie’s advice.
A second and third season of
Collector
Inspector and two hour-long specials followed.
In June 2006,
my wife Linda accepted the position of Provost and Vice President of Academic
Affairs at Western
Connecticut
State
University
in Danbury,
Connecticut.
Linda and I have deep Pennsylvania
roots.
I grew up in Hellertown (just south
of Bethlehem);
Linda’s home was Pottstown.
Prior to our marriage, she lived in Wyomissing
(Reading).
We lived in the former Vera Cruz (Pennsylvania)
Elementary School, headquarters for Rinker Enterprises, before our move to
Connecticut.
We rented a townhouse in
Brookfield,
while maintaining our residence in Vera Cruz.
Our plan was for Linda to
spend two or three years at Western and then retire to our home in Pennsylvania.
Adventures often take unexpected
turns.
Three years became four.
Four turned into five.
Once I realized we would be in Connecticut longer
than initially anticipated, I embarked on a new adventure.
I went back to school, earning a Master of Fine
Arts in Creative and Professional Writing from
Western
Connecticut
State
University in January
2010.
The degree was my ticket to returning to the
college/university classroom, allowing me to share my love of writing with my
students.
I taught my first English composition course at Norwalk
(Connecticut) Community College in the fall 2009 semester.
This 2010 fall semester, I am teaching eight
courses: three COM (Public Speaking) and one ENG103 (Composition) at Lincoln
College of New England, two ENG101 (Composition) at Norwalk Community College,
one ENG110 (Writing Lab) at Southern Connecticut State University, and serving
with six other faculty in teaching HON398 (Wunderkammer of Knowledge: Exploring
the hidden spirit behind science, art, creativity, and rational thought).
Linda thinks my teaching adventure “has gotten out
of hand.” She
is correct.
I spend most of my time driving from one location to
another, in the classroom, or grading papers.
Of course, all this is in addition to my continuing
commitments in the antiques and collectibles field, from personal appearances
and consulting to writing “Rinker on Collectibles” and hosting WHATCHA GOT?, my
nationally syndicated antiques and collectibles call-in radio show.
I think of our
Connecticut adventure as a
safe adventure.
The drive to Vera Cruz is two and one-half hours.
Since we retain our home/school, my collections and
reference library remain accessible.
The good news is that our
Brookfield townhouse
presents me with an additional 1,800 square feet for my collections.
Danbury/Brookfield is familiar
territory.
The distance from New York City
is the same.
Brimfield and the Hartford
paper show are closer, but Renninger’s Extravaganza and Adamstown continue to be
within comfortable reach.
I strayed, but not too far.
Eighteen months ago, Linda and I made
the decision to put our home/school in Vera Cruz on the market.
It has been under contract several times but has
not sold.
While the packing process is nearing completion, the
failure of the building to sell has allowed me to keep postponing the tough
“what are you going to do with all your stuff?” decision.
It is decision time.
Linda has accepted the
position of Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs at
Davenport
University
in
Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
We are moving to Grand Rapids in January 2011; the
exact date has yet to be determined.
We are still in the process of looking for a place
to live.
This will be another grand adventure.
Linda has only lived, with the exception of our
four and one-half years in Connecticut, in eastern Pennsylvania.
I lived in
St. Louis for
three years, 1963-1966, while a graduate student at
Washington
University.
I returned “home” (eastern
Pennsylvania)
as soon as my studies ended.
Linda and I are excited.
Professionally, Linda has an opportunity to help
Davenport grow, the reverse of her situation at Western where the Connecticut
state budget crisis is likely to result in severe program cuts.
While I plan to continue my
new teaching career, I cannot wait to explore the antiques and collectibles
scene in the upper Midwest.
Grand Rapids is
within easy driving distance of the Allegan Flea Market and the outdoor
Ann Arbor
antiques and collectibles market.
An Internet search produced a list of dozens of
antiques malls within a fifty-mile radius.
Living in Vera Cruz spoiled me.
I could drive to New York in less than two hours,
Boston in five hours, Philadelphia in an hour and twenty minutes, Baltimore in
three hours, Washington, D.C., in four hours, and Pittsburgh in four and
one-half hours.
It was quicker to drive than to fly.
Moving to Danbury shortened the New England drive,
but only added one to two hours to the other drives.
Grand Rapids is a ten- to eleven-hour drive from
our “home.”
Eastern provincialism is a disease.
I grew up thinking the west started in
Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.
I received a rude awaking
when I arrived in St. Louis
and realized I could not drive to California
and back in a weekend.
After studying
maps, I came to the conclusion that Grand Rapids
is a great location.
Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland are within
a two- to three-and-one-half-hour drive.
Chicago
and St. Charles
are synonymous in my mind.
I
have not attended the Kane County Flea Market since Helen Robinson passed away.
I need to remedy this.
Further, I never attended the toy show held at the
same location.
It is on my to do list once Linda and I settle in
Grand Rapids.
Lansing is an
hour east with Jackson
less than an hour south from there.
Kalamazoo
is an hour south with
Battle Creek
less than an hour to the east.
The shores of Lake Michigan are less than a
forty-five minute drive, something Linda is looking forward to exploring.
Our weekends are going to be busy.
Attending the
Milwaukee
circus parade is one of my life goals.
The 2010 parade was canceled for lack of sufficient
funds.
Civic leaders are discussing holding the parade every few
years rather than annually.
Milwaukee
is within easy driving distance of
Grand Rapids.
When the next parade is held, I plan to be there.
Friendships are at the heart of
collecting.
The move to
Grand Rapids means
I will be able to spend more time with my
Midwest friends.
Al and Sue Klein Badgade
regularly antique in
Michigan.
I plan to meet them whenever I can.
Tim Bos of Bos Auctions & Appraisal Services in
Jackson completed the course of studies at my Institute for the Study of
Antiques and Collectibles.
We have kept in touch over the years.
I look forward to spending more time with him.
Reality dampens enthusiasm.
Linda already is worried about what will we take
with us, what we will leave behind, and where and what we will have to sell,
giveaway, or abandon.
I tell her that her issues are minor compared to
what I am facing in respect to the collections and library resources in Vera
Cruz.
The move to Grand Rapids
is not a move to the next town over.
It is major.
Downsizing is staring me in the face.
I am prepared not to be the one who blinks first.
I am ready for this adventure as well.
I will share my experiences in future columns.
Meanwhile, Grand
Rapids, here we come.
Life is not only an adventure.
It is a hoot.
Rinker Enterprises and Harry L. Rinker are on the Internet.
Check out
www.harryrinker.com.
You can listen and participate
in WHATCHA
GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio
call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
If you cannot find it on a
station in your area,
WHATCHA GOT? streams live
on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.
SELL, KEEP OR TOSS?
HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND
APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY (House of
Collectibles, an imprint of the Random House Information Group, $16.95), Harry’s
latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via
www.harryrinker.com.
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