Object Lesson
by John Brooke
“Hi,
Jason, am ever glad that you answered the phone,
‘cause I found something really weird in
Grandma’s attic.”
“What do
you mean by weird, please be more specific,
Martha?”
“Seems to
be some sort of garment.”
“What do
you think it was used for?”
“Well its
either a torture device or a kind of light-weight
armor.”
“Describe
it.”
“It’s
clothing that looks sorta like a sweater, but
it’s made of some sort of stiff canvass
material. About 50 hard skinny pieces, about
a quarter of an inch wide and up to a foot long.
These are sewn into narrow pockets that run top to
bottom, almost all the way around. The back is
open, and the edges are reinforced. A strong,
narrow cord is threaded through metal
eyelets on each side of the opening. It laces up
like shoe.”
“Weirdo,
Sounds like something an Amazon warrior might
wear.”
“I found
it in an old carved leather trunk from Peru..”
“Wow,
call the museum, sounds like its worth a fortune!”
“Good
idea, Jason I’m hanging up and phoning them
right now.”
“Wait a
second will you? Call and tell me what the museum
says. Okay.”
Jason
hadn’t heard anything from Martha after a
day, so he phoned her. “Hi, Jason here, I
didn’t hear what the museum thought
about your treasure.”
“The
expert from the museum came right over when I
described what I’d found.”
“Don’t
keep on the edge, it must be worth a fortune!”
Well the
‘body armor’ turned out to be a
woman’s undergarment girdle from the late
1800’s and worthless.”
“What a
bummer!”
“Wait!
The trunk turned out to be a Spanish
Conquistador’s and was worth over $250,000!”
“Marry me!”
Gasped Jason.
|
