That, and Five Dollars Will Buy You Ecstasy

How exciting- it's a... bowl. And not even clay. But wait, it's the search for the bowl that fills this story. A search that has lasted for almost 30 years. It's the fourth in a set of nesting bowls by Pyrex. Mommie made banana puddin' and mashed potato salad, in the largest bowl (no not together), which was yellow. In her set, there was salmon, red, green and yellow. Somewhere in the years after her death, all the bowls, with the exception of the yellow, were missing from my cabinets. A good friend filled in the red and green ones for me. I searched for the last one at rummage sales, antique malls, flea markets- all to no avail.

I was at yet another antique mall, this day, and I had scoured all the booths. Once again, disappointment was all that had caught my eye. I heaved the inevitable oh-well-sigh, and had begun to say the last rites for this search: "I guess I'll find it one day". Yes, it was a very Eeyore moment. But I had not even fully finished the last word...gasp. When, what to my wandering (sic) eyes should appear, but the very bowl I'd searched for, through many a long year. (my apologies to Clement Moore) There it was in blue. I almost did the dance-of-happy right there in the aisle. But seeing a large lady dancing about in pure ecstasy, over a bowl, (or really- over anything) might have cleared the mall of potential customers. I demurely settled for an shrill schoolgirl scream.

I gleefully strolled up to the counter to make my purchase. Actually, I looked more like Jimmy Stewart in It's A Wonderful Life, doing the 'moma and papa dollar' dance after the run on the bank. The price tag was marked- $10. How perfect. Through the years, I have found other sets that weren't complete or with the wrong pattern, and they had been over $60. I would have gladly paid $20 just for that one bowl. I was on a Pyrex-high when I reached the check-out. But wait, here's the extra serving in my bowl story. There, I was informed that all items in that booth were 50% off, and it would really be a mere- $5. Whoa Moma. Ooh. Ooh. Sweet! I finished making my purchase, giggling all the while. And when I left the store, the cashier was shaking her head and upon her lips- a story that is sure to become the stuff of legends... Giggle.