Polanski’s Pawn Parlor

                                                                                      Polanski’s Pawn Parlor

         Polanski’s is a great place to visit for looking around, purchasing items or just “schmoozing” with Papa Polanski, the proprietor. Papa was the pro of pawned potpourri. He had a yarn to tell about each and every item he’d accepted on loan at his establishment. He was not a wealth man, by monetary measurement, however, he was the uncontested champion of pawn knowledge and he delighted in expounding on this ability to any and all who would listen.
         I enjoyed my weekly visits to Polanski’s. Each visit I would find various items of interest. Most of the time what captured my interest were items that were of an unusual nature in size, shape, or value. Papa, as usual, acknowledged me as I entered his establishment. At the time he was busy with other customers. So, I just began meandering around the pawn shop. I was on the lookout for unusual items. After a bit of searching an object in the far corner of the shop caught my eye. It was a tall glass object made of clear glass. The object was cylindrical at both ends but was very narrow in the middle. It was sealed with wooden caps at both ends. The bottom portion of the object was filled up to the narrow passage in the middle with what appeared to be fine sand.
         My name is Ripley Ignatius Poultice. I prefer to be called “Rip.” I earned this nickname playing baseball. I am a pitcher most of the time, however, I can hit the “white pill” with the fury and power of a ball player of much greater stature than most would expect. I am 14 years of age. I think I’m pretty good looking, but I leave it others to make up their minds on what they observe when they meet me. I am a bit slender but, I am stout for my size. I have curly red hair and azure blue eyes. The girls are of little interest, at present. My greatest interest for now is collecting odd ball items and making up mysteries about them as I daydream about their endless possibilities. My Mom describes me as unpredictable, precocious, complicated, determined, spontaneous and starry-eyed. My Dad on the other hand, has a different point of view of his only son. His description of me is a bit narrower in scope, from my point of view. Mothers are always the most accurate.
         Back to Polanski’s and my new discovery. Back to Polanski’s and my new discovery. I was finally able to get Papa Polanski's attention. I told them I was interested in the new object, and he politely picked it off the shelf and laid it on the counter in front of me. At this point Polanski lived his aromatic pipe. He then took time to explain to me a bit about the hourglass that had caught my attention. Papa Polanski chimed, "Hourglasses are among a number of ingenious timekeeping devices used before the development of clocks in the Middle Ages. Hourglasses, also called sandglasses, sand timers, sand clocks, or egg timers, are a relatively recent invention. The earliest known record of hourglasses dates from the 14th century. Hour glasses were commonly used as timers in early factories. When working with metals the hourglass aided the tradesman in knowing when just enough heat had been applied to accomplish the desired effect. Sand glasses were used to time thirty minute spans of time on naval ships. As each thirty minute period went by a bell was struck by hand to note the time that had passed. This was known as a watch glass. Hourglasses were also used on ships to measure speed. This was accomplished by a crew member letting a piece of wood, or “chip log” attached to a rope with knots tied at measured intervals play into the water from the stern rail while a ship’s officer timed the action using an hourglass. This speed measurement of nautical miles came to be known as knots. The amount of time used for this measurement was merely seconds. The range of time - 14 seconds to 30 seconds - varied from one culture to another." Papa Polanski's pipe had gone out at this point, so he ended his story. I was totally mesmerized by his description of this unusual object that I had spied in the pawn shop. Now, it was time to bargain over the price for the hourglass. Bob Polanski said he'd have to have at least $50 for the hourglass. I offered him $30. He countered with $40. I offered him $35. Pop Polanski barked, "Sold!" I counted the money, paid for the hourglass gathered the hourglass and headed out the door.
         Arriving home, I headed straight for my room. A locked my door and placed the hourglass on my study desk. I turn on the light, sat in the chair and stared at this unusual artifact. It seemed like a long time and passed and I'm still intently staring at the hourglass. To my surprise, and even after trying to remember everything that Papa Polanski told me about their glass, I still did not have a clue as to how the hourglass was to work. Well, there was nothing to do but make another trip to Papa Polanski's. However, I have chores to do and lots of homework. My next visit would have to wait a day or two. I carefully placed the hourglass on my bookshelves. There it would reside until I can determine how to operate this antique. The hourglass was in good company, as I had several classic books on my shelves. They included Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, Robert B. Parker, Dean Koontz and even the selection by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I was very proud to be in possession of these fine pieces of literature.
          Two days later, I was able to break away from the house and make my way to Papa Polanski's. As soon as I entered the doorway of the Polanski pull me off to the side and ask me to come into the back room. He seemed very serious and a bit on the worried side as I followed him into the back room. Once in the back room, he set me down glanced over his shoulder to make sure the shop was empty and began relating what happened the day before. Papa said the day before just after lunch, a rough looking fella named "Knuckles" Nordling came into the shop in a huff. He went right to the point and told Papa, that he had to have the hourglass that I had just purchased. He asked all sorts of questions about me. Who was I? What was my name? Where did I live? Did I have a telephone? Papa said he played dumb; he gave Nordling no information about me. He told me that before Nordling left, he pretty much threatened to do him harm, if he was not able to acquire the antique hourglass. Papa said he told him he was going to call the police if there was going to be any rough stuff and Nordling quickly exited the pawnshop. Papa Polanski warned me to keep my eyes peeled for the next few days. If I caught sight of "Knuckles"," You need to go straight to the police and have them call me so I can report how abusive this character appeared to be." That being said, Polanski explained to me that if all the sand was in the bottom of the hourglass. It needed to be switched over to the opposite end and the sand would start its slow, but gradual journey to the bottom of the hourglass.
         I went straight home. I took time to explain to my mother and father exactly what had taken place in regard to my latest purchase at Papa Polanski's. Dad's take was a bit different than I expected. In fact, he cautioned me that Papa Polanski might just be pulling my leg a bit. However, mom felt that I needed to be very cautious to make sure that I didn't get involved in something that could be both dangerous and life-threatening. Inside, I was thrilled to death. Had I just opened up a can of worms, or was this going to be an exciting adventure? My mind in a twirl, I went straight to my room to follow up on Polanski's directions as to how to operate the hourglass. To my amazement, as soon as I turned the hourglass upside down, the tiny white sand grains began to gradually fall to the bottom of the glass.

I went straight home. I took time to explain to my mother and father exactly what had taken place in regard to my latest purchase at Papa Polanski's. Dad's take was a bit different than I expected. In fact, he cautioned me that Papa Polanski might just be pulling my leg a bit. However, mom felt that I needed to be very cautious to make sure that I didn't get involved in something that could be both dangerous and life-threatening. Inside, I was thrilled to death. Had I just opened up a can of worms, or was this going to be an exciting adventure? My mind was in a twirl. I went straight to my room to follow up on Polanski's directions as to how to operate the hourglass. To my amazement, as soon as I turned the hourglass upside down, the tiny white sand grains began to gradually fall to the bottom of the glass. It took exactly 30 minutes of my watch for the sand to empty into the bottom half of the hourglass. I was about to set the hourglass back on the shelf, when I observed a small piece of paper resting at the neck of the antique piece. What a discovery!!! I could barely contain my excitement. I knew I had to go back to Papa Polanski's tomorrow. Sleep didn't come readily that night. My mind was in the blur. What was on that piece of paper? Would this be important, or was it just a piece of paper that had been placed in the hourglass when it had been created?
         Next day, I was up early dressed in a flash and quickly ate some breakfast. I headed straight for Papa Polanski's pawn shop. With Polanski's help, we carefully opened the hourglass to retrieve the piece of paper. On the paper was a short message. The message indicated a stash of cash hidden, just outside of town. Polanski was just as excited as I was after he had read the message. "Rip, we need to call the police as soon as possible", the old man chimed. Following his advice, we call the police, and they came immediately to the pawnshop. Both Polanski and I related the story about the hourglass, and the visit by Knuckles Nordling.  There was nothing left to do but to follow up on the directions that had been scrolled on the old piece of paper we had removed from the hourglass. The policeman had come to the shop, loaded in the squad car and headed for the place that had been indicated by the note. The adventure was expanding, as we headed for the scene where it appeared that something had been buried.
         To our amazement, when we arrived at the area indicated by the note, who but Knuckles Nordling, was in the process of digging a hole on the exact spot indicated by the message I had found. The policeman immediately arrested Nordling. When looking at the hole where he had been digging, we found a large chest filled with what appeared to be thousands of dollars of cash. Once the chest was removed, the policeman placed it in the trunk of the squad car. We all headed to the police station. Once there, Nordling was booked and placed in a holding cell. We then began examining the stage of money. To the amazement of everyone, it was counterfeit money. There as thousands of dollars of phony money. What an adventure.
         The very best part of this whole episode was the fact that I received a $1000 reward for finding the counterfeit money. It had been a wonderful experience. What's more, important, I was still in possession of a prized antique.
Word Count = 2069