ON A VERY STORMY, RAINY SATURDAY IN 1984, GRANNYS MAHWAH OPENED UP AN HOUR LATE...DUE TO THE HORRIBLE WEATHER.....TO ME IT WAS A BAD OMEN.....THE BAD WEATHER ON OPENING SAY...BUT, WITHIN 20 MINUTES, I HAD MAE A 1500 DOLLAR SALE....AN ARMOIRE, THAT WE HAD HAD IN NEW MILFORD FOR YEARS. SO THE OMEN THEORY WAS WRONG...AND THE STORE DID WELL FOR YEARS.....WE MADE MONEY, I WENT ON LOTS OF VACATIONS, THE AUCTIONS DEVELOPED FANTASTICALLY, WE OPENED OUR FACTORY IN PATERSON TO REFINISH FURNITURE....WHICH THEN LED TO EXPANDING THE FLOOR SPACE AND BECOMING DIRECT IMPORTERS OF ANTIQUES FROM HOLLAND AND HUNGARY....THEN THE FACTORY TOOK ON ANOTHER FLOOR AND WE OPENED IT ON THE WEEKEND AS A STORE.
TIME PASSED, 9/11 CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER....TASTES CHANGED.....THE CHURCH KICKED US OUT AFTER 25 YEARS, AND THEN THE FACOTRY WAS SOLD. NO MORE REFINISHING...AND WE MOVED TO HOHOKUS. THE AUCTION HALL HERE JUST NEVER TOOK OFF...BUT THE WORLD CHANGED, TASTES CHANGED, A NEW GENERATION TOOK OVER ..WHO WAS BEING GIVEN THE ANTIQUES FROM THEIR PARENTS WHO WERE RETIRING....BUT THEY ALSO WANTED DIFFERENT STYLES....MORE MODERN, MOR RETRO......AND THE ANTIQUE ROAD SHOW, EBAY, CRAIGS LIST, ALL ADDED TO THE DEMISE OF AUCTIONS, AND 80% OF THE RETAIL ANTIQUE STORES IN AMERICA!
i HELD OUT ON THE clIFTON STORE TO LONG TO CLOSE,....AND MADE THE SAME MISTAKE WAS MADE BY NOT CLOSING MAHWAH.....AND I WAISTED MUCH TO MUCH MONEY.....BUT TODAY, AFTER CLEANING MAHWAH OUT FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS...IS GONE.....THE BOYS SWEPT IT CLEAN, FILLED UP A DUMPSTER WITH LEFT OVER STUFF FROM BOTH YARDS.....AND LEFT THE BUILDING EMPTY, EXCEPT FOR BLACK MOLD ON THE WALLS, WHICH I CERTAINLY HOPE WASNT TRANSFERED INTO THIS BUILDING.... THE SIGNS OUT SIDE ARE DOWN. AND IT LOOKS LIKE AN OLD UNHAPPY BUILDING, WITH NO EVIDENCE THAT GRANNYS ATTIC WAS EVER THERE...'
IN SOME WHAT IT IS SAD. I HAD AN APARTMENT UPSTAIRS FOR OVER TEN YEARS...AND IF THE WALLS COULD TALK.....SOME EXCITEMENT AND DRAMA TOOK PLACE THERE...WHICH i MIGHT WRITE ABOUT SOMEDAY....I WROTE A NOVEL THERE. I WROTE A BOOK OF POETRY AND PHILOPSHY THERE...I HAD A GREAT DOG NAMED BUSTER...A BLACK LAB GREAT DANE THAT LIVED AND DIED THERE...AND A PUSSY CAT, THAT I FOUND ON RT 17...ALSO LIVED THERE, AND PASSED IN THOSE YEARS....I HOSTED MY FREIND BENNO AND HIS GIRL FRIEND FROM AMSTERDAM THERE...AND FRANK AND SUSAN , A MARRIED COUPLE FROM HUNGARY...LIVED WITH ME FOR A WHILE, AN MY FRIEND MARTIN FROM AMSTERDAM, STAYED THERE...WHEN HE CAME TO AMERICAN TO PAINT OUR TRUCKS..WITH HIS FAMOUS "CARTOONS".....
NOW IS IS ALL IN MY MEMORY..... JOHN SAYS ITS SAD.....YES IT IS, BUT LIFE MUST GO ON....ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END...AND IN REALITY, IT WAS NOT GOOD FOR YEARS....THE CUSTOMERS COME TO HOHOKUS....OR JUST DONT BUY STUFF ANYWHERE..ANYMORE!!
tHE GOOD PART, I WILL SAVE OVER 4000 DOLLARS A MONTH.
I HELPT CLEAN OUT THE PLACE FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS...BUT TODAY, THE VERY LAST DAY..I STAYED IN HOHOKUS, AND ALL THE GUYS WERE THERE, CLEANING IT OUT FOR THE LAST TIME....I THINK I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN EMOTIONAL...WALKING OUT FOR THE LAST TIME AND LOCKING THE DOOR.. YES, AN END OF AN ERA... WE MUST PUT ALL OUR ENERGY INTO HOHOKUS AND MAKING THIS PLACE WORK,,,,AND PROSPER.
BUT THERE IS ONE INSULTING THING THAT HAPPEND. THE LANDLORD WHO SHALL GO UNNAMED, IS A REAL ASSHOLE. WE PAID THE RENT THERE FOR OVER A QUARTER OF A CENTURY....HE WAS SO LUCKY TO HAVE THE PLACE RENTED CONSECUTIVELY FOR ALL THAT TIME, NEVER LOOSING ANY RENT.....AND THE BASTARD REALLY DIDNT TAKE CARE OF THE BUILDING.....WE PUT IN NEW LIGHTING, FRONT PICTURE WINDOWS, FENCES, PAINTED THE BUILDING TWICE, PAID THE WATER, SEWER, AND GARBAGE BILLS.... AND DIDNT FIX THE HEATING SYSTEM FOR YEARS WHEN IT BROKE...ETC... WELL, FRIDAY, THERE WAS A SUPERIOR COURT NOTICE POSTED ON THE DOOR..THAT WE HAD TO BE OUT BY TOMORROW..... AND WE WERE ONLY STILL THERE , CLEANING THE PLACE TO LEAVE IT DECENT.. WE EVEN PATCHED HOLES IN THE APARTMENT WALLS WHERE PICTURES WERE HANGING.... BEFORE HE SERVED US WITH THAT NOTICE....I WAS EVEN GOING TO WASH THE FLOORS.....WE ALSO LET HIM "PARK"(STORE) A HUGE TRACTOR ON THE PROPERTY FOR YEARS...AND WE DIDNT CHARGE HIM..... WE DIDNT HAVE TO LET HIM PARK IT THERE.....DID WE????? wELL, ITS ALL IN THE PAST, UNLESS THERE IS SOME KIND OF LAWSUIT FOR SOMETHING WHICH HE MIGHT FIND AS A WAY OF REVENGE FOR US MOVING OUT.
MOTHERS DAY WAS SPENT WITH MY SISTER,BROTHERINLAW AND NEICE... WE WENT TO MY SISTERS FAVORITE HANG-OUT..CLUB...RESTUARANT ON A GOLD COURSE.....
THE SERVICE WAS NOT GOOD..WE WAITED AN HOUR BEFORE THE MAIN COURSE CAME...THE SHRIMP APPETIZER WAS FAR FROM AMAZING...NO BETTER THAN SOMETHING YOU CAN BUY FROZEN. THE FILET MIGNON WAS VERY TENDER...SERVED ON THE BONE(NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE) THE WINE REDUCTION SAUCE WAS DELICIOUS....BUT THE MEAT..SEEMED TASTLESS...BUT TENDER...THE SAUCE GAVE IT SOME TASTE. THE VEGGIES AND POTAOTES WERE TASTY BUT SPARCE..tHE MUSIC, ALTHOUGH EXCELLENT...WAS TOO LOUD.....IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TALK AND WAS SO LOUD, ALMOST PAINFULL.
BUT WITH ALL THOSE KVETCHES, I HAD A GOOD TIME....
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