Eddie was apparently fussing with the particulars and while this was going on, trying to get on the blog got an unavailable message. Dear Eddie, don't do that again.

Now here is the post that was hanging while I wondered if we had a blog site or not.

Old Guns and History

Early in our relationship, Ed was heavily into collecting Revolutionary War muskets. We went to all the gun shows. If we got lost, the instruction was “follow the pickup trucks”. Gun shows sell modern as well as antique weapons.

At one show, Ed brought with him his “New York gun,” possibly to show his good friend Peter*, who always had a booth at these shows. He needed hands free to look at more guns, so he asked me to hang on to it. I wandered around with it and was stopped by half a dozen guys who said, “Hey, are you selling that gun?’” And I would reply, “Not if I want to live.” They got the message. I knew what it was. What it was, was one of the first Colonial contract muskets purchased privately by the city of New York to arm its militia in the French and Indian wars. It was then re-issued during the Revolution to the First New York Continentals. It was rare indeed.

Ed was obsessed during this period, eating/sleeping/living with Rev War guns. He was in touch with professionals in the field and we drove to Washington, DC to have a meeting with the curator of the arms exhibit of the Smithsonian. We had dinner at the Jockey Club and the steak was one of the best I have ever eaten. Pat Buchanan walked in. I agreed with him about nothing. It was still a kick to see him.

At one time, one bedroom wall in our Queens, NY apartment was dedicated to the 40 muskets Ed had acquired. When it came time to move to Florida, they would have needed a special climate controlled room to be stored in and also, we were buying a house, so Ed decided to sell. It wasn’t the best time to sell and we didn’t get top dollar, but he went ahead and they were auctioned off by Butterfield’s, the California-based auction house. Their catalog for these guns was elegant and it was labeled with Ed’s name.

Incidentally, we watch “Pawn Stars” on TV and recently they had an episode where they were examining rare early guns and in order to “test” them, they went to a field and actually shot them to prove they were still functioning. And I asked Ed, “Why are they doing that? You always said that shooting these weapons reduces their value.” And he said, “It does and they are ignorant.”

Some years ago, we traveled to Gettysburg for a 4th of July event where they were re-enacting the Civil War Battle. Ed had looked into participating (no doubt, as an officer …) and then he learned they were expected to sleep on the battlefield overnight and use trenches for “the necessary”. He said, “I can’t do this. I’m Jewish. I need my own bathroom.”

Ed is an advanced student of American and world history and he is constantly asking me, “How come you don’t know that?” “Well,” I say, “did your first two wives know more?” Hah.

xx, Teal

*Peter was a Vietnam war veteran who, at one point, was separated from his unit and forced to live alone in the jungle surviving by his wits. He barely made it out alive and the experience so damaged him emotionally and physically that one day he drove to his sporting goods store, took a gun from the case, went into his private office, locked the door, and shot himself. He had a military funeral with honors.