On the hunt in East Texas for possible Golden Collectibles

To start, even though it doesn't involve sponsor pins, I believe this might still be quite interesting, so I've decided to share it here with all of you.

On our way to my niece's recent wedding in a suburb west of Dallas, my wife and I took the opportunity to visit an event we've been wanting to attend for 40 years. The timing never worked out before, but this trip, it did, and we spent an evening in East Texas.

The event is First Monday, known as the World's Largest Flea Market, spanning over 100 acres. Aware that we couldn't see it all in one day, we aimed to explore a small section to find even something special.

As we walked, we discovered an array of items from lavender to secret recipe hot sauce, and everything else that makes shopping or rather hunting at such events enjoyable. From my experience at similar events back home, vendors are usually scattered across various booths. However, after much walking, we finally located the antiques and collectibles building. If we had consulted one of the free maps from the guide, we would have found it immediately. Walking inside, there were many dealers, primarily selling jewelry, baseball cards, and other items, and as expected in this region, some gun dealers with accompanying military memorabilia.

After much browsing without much luck, I spotted it… a Berlin 1936 Olympics Photographer's Badge. My first point of reference was eBay, where I found the asking price to be triple what the seller was offering. Overcome with adrenaline, I calmed down, maintained my composure, and casually inquired, "Cash or credit?”. The answer was no credit of course, so I began to reach for my wallet and then the wife stepped in and said let me negotiate, and promptly got the price down an additional twenty dollars.

At that point, we were finally getting tired, and decided to call it a day. The wife looked down at her smart watch, and noted, “Do you realize we walked 7,500 steps in 3 and 1/2 hours, and we still have about 1,000 more to get to the car”. Of course I could have walked another 7,500 but it was kind of a drive back to Dallas, and besides I have to take care.

Postscript: Not only did I get the pin, but my wife handed it to me and said “Happy Early Birthday”… not bad for a 67th birthday present.