TOPIC: Paradise Lost

As I read about the sometimes difficult searches for old outboard motor parts, I have to recall the local resource I had , until recently. Not more than 4 miles from me, there was a "mom and pop" boat business , who had been there since the mid 1950s. In fact, the whole store was right out of the 1950s; a dimly lit ,rambling old wooden building, with dusty little cardboard boxes of parts lining the walls and scattered here and there. Wonderful old outboard motors peeked out from under piles of stuff. Only "pop" himself knew how to find anything, but his memory was sharp as a tack. Not once did I ask for an older OMC motor part that he didn't have in stock , after a suitable search. Even his prices were a couple of decades old ! Some folk considered him difficult to deal with, but I soon learned that he was only trying to help, and educate his customers in his own way. Just be humble and stroke his feathers in the right direction, and you'd get what you needed, plus some ! Not long ago "mom and pop" retired, and their son didn't want the business. Alas, at auction their stock was scattered to the four winds. Paradise lost, but I still smile when I recall that wonderful old "mom and pop" business !

YOu were lucky to have that resource for as long as you did. I bet the folks who bought his inventory got the deal of a lifetime. I can see the image of the store in my mind, and imagine the smell of gear oil, greeting you, as you walk the creaky floors.

Today's fast paced world of " buy a new one like everybody else " does not appreciate the skills and knowledge of those " old time experts "

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Often times they are ridiculed when they speak of what they know.

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Some people say " nothing but junk in there "

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others say " wow I have come to the right place "----It is all in how you look at things.

Sooooo True! With all the new "superstores" and internet shopping, places like that are becoming ancient history that future enthusiasts will never get to enjoy. If you think about it, it makes wealths of info like this even more valuable.