How long has it been since you said you had a perfect day? Well, I had one yesterday. It was definitely a day I will remember for the rest of my life. After getting up at 7:00 a.m., I met a wonderful young man named Andrew Slaw and his mother Ann, to begin a full day of antiquing. I had been invited to their home so that we could travel together. First, however, I had to see the collections that Andrew has assembled. There was the wall of humor, where he has photos and posters of his favorite comics. There was Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Lucille Ball. He also has an impressive book collection where he does his research on items that he wishes to buy.
You must be asking why was this a prefect day, considering that this is something I’ve done hundreds of times? You see, I have never done it before where it meant so much to me. Ann prepared Andrew his special food in his little backpack and off we went. First it was an antique mall in Kenosha that is known as the School House Mall. We searched high and low but with very little success. We did buy a food chopper with the old green paint and I agreed with Andrew there should be a double there because after bargaining from a starting price of $5.00 it was purchased for $2.50. My strength was soon zapped by trying to keep up with the bright eyed young man as he scurried from booth to booth.
Next it was off to lunch at Cracker Barrel where we discussed all the things we had seen and examined to see if we had made any mistakes. Reassuring ourselves that nothing of interest had been passed by, we resumed our journey. Where do the young people get all that energy?
Gurnee Antique Mall was next on our list and Andrew could hardly wait for us to arrive there. We had barely entered the mall when Ann spotted an egg coddler to add to the collection and Andrew picked a Charlie Chaplin poster for his first purchase there. We bought a Bosson head and a metal tray but that was about the total of our finds. I am sure you know there is more to this story and I will try to share it with you if I can.
Andrew is sixteen years old and a little small for his age. He is a junior in high school but there are days when he doesn't attend school because he just doesn't feel good enough to go. It’s not because he doesn't have the desire to attend school but because he has a rare disease by the name of Familial Dysautonomia or, as we will be calling it, FD. They haven't found a cure for this disease yet but we are praying it will be found soon. Andrew doesn't feel sorry for himself but has a zest for life that I haven't seen in many people. He doesn't ask for help from others but he is there to help them. Just recently he had metal rods placed beside his spine so that he could stand upright, but even this could not get him to feel sorry for all he has gone through. Boy, am I blessed to have a special friend like Andrew.
There is a foundation called FD NOW and its email is fdnow@comcast.net. If any of you would like to know more about Andrew and FD please send an email and information will be sent to you. The phone number is 1-847-913-0455. You might want to consider sending Andrew a card at 1170 Green Knolls Dr. Buffalo Grove Il. 60089. If you have anything lying around your house that could be added to Andrew’s wall of humor, I know it would be greatly appreciated. God Bless and have a wonderful day.
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