The Woes Of A First Lost Fountain Pen

[KBeezie]

Anything of decent value can be added. Especially collections of things that you could not replace.

 

Seems like vintage could classify, you can't just hit up a retailer and replace it with something exactly identical.

[Guest Ray Cornett]

 

Seems like vintage could classify, you can't just hit up a retailer and replace it with something exactly identical.

Exactly. You can at least usually get replacement costs if it is something you can find another one of.

[Chrissy]

Kella

 

I have a Black Safari in my stash and have been considering giving it to someone to get them started - a PIF. I believe it is a F nib, if not fine it would be medium. I would like to send it to you since I know college students don't always have a lot of disposable income. Hopefully it will make you feel a little better, and give me some good Karma so my Carene returns home. Please PM me if you are interested and I will send it off. I know it won't replace yours but hopefully it will ease the pain.

 

Mary

Mary that is a great thing to do. Good for you.

[OcalaFlGuy]

These days, at least in the U.S., homeowner's type insurance is "intended" to be for Serious to Catastrophic losses. To keep premiums somewhat sane you'll often have a stiff deductible which even for renters insurance could be several hundred dollars.

 

I could see the resulting premium increase for say filling a $500 claim on $1000 worth of lost pens not making "good financial sense" (Assuming a $500 deductible.)

 

Of course, when your house burns down to the ground and takes your $5000 pen collection with it, that's another whole different story.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Kella]

Thank you all for the help and support. Mary was generous enough to mail me a safari although the one I lost had extremely sentimental value I thank her for going out of the way for a new member and virtual stranger. You all are just a really great community and I look forward to all the time I spend here.

[Water Ouzel]

These days, at least in the U.S., homeowner's type insurance is "intended" to be for Serious to Catastrophic losses. To keep premiums somewhat sane you'll often have a stiff deductible which even for renters insurance could be several hundred dollars.

 

I could see the resulting premium increase for say filling a $500 claim on $1000 worth of lost pens not making "good financial sense" (Assuming a $500 deductible.)

Recently had my laptop, case, power supply, etc etc etc ... and my Twsbi Mini Classic stolen out of my truck. About $2200 in total to replace.

 

The deductible on our homeowner's insurance is $2500.

 

And given our experience with insurance agents in the past (another driver came over the line on a windy road and took out the left side of my car; no injuries, insurance totaled it, set the blame 100% on the other guy ... and cancelled *my* insurance), reporting would only have Bad Effects on my coverage in the future. Sometimes you just can't win.

[Blade Runner]

Thank you all for the help and support. Mary was generous enough to mail me a safari although the one I lost had extremely sentimental value I thank her for going out of the way for a new member and virtual stranger. You all are just a really great community and I look forward to all the time I spend here.

Very Nice! Kella, some people never receive this kind of kindness from a stranger in their life. It is the kind of act that inspires others. Mary, you are a good egg. :-)

Edited April 12, 2014 by Blade Runner

[Lyander0012]

Okay, the above brought a smile to my face, and I do think I'm tearing up a bit

 

... Not kidding, actually.

 

Anyway, this is part of the reason why I love hanging out on this forum, though I'm not really planning on hoarding hundreds of FPs; it's just great to talk shop with you guys, and maybe help out someone new to the hobby or have fun talks about ink and vintage pens I'll likely never own, etc. Great place, the FPN.

 

Hope you find your Carene, Mary! It's bound to turn up sooner or later.

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

[DBQMary]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Hope they manage to find it! This is one instance when I'm actually banking on others' finding fountain pens unattractive or worthless :/

 

On a side note, I've nearly lost my Lamy (haha) 2000 on four separate occassions! Once at a club (yikes), once in a movie house, and twice at school. The spring-loaded clip is just too dang loose fitting.

 

P.S.

Damn, sorry to hear about the Carene! Hope that they find that as well. Why not send them a pic? It's definitely a pen that'd stand out.

And the Sonnet... yikes, this seems to happen much too often. Glad you got a replacement, though.

 

Update

 

I had taken your advice and sent a picture of my Carene and sent it to the store manager. I received an e-mail this morning that he had the pen. Luckily the person who found it realized the value and put it in their safe instead of the lost and found. I am going to pick it up this afternoon.

 

I hope that Kella has a similar experience and the original pen is returned. I know it has special meaning. Plus I am a sucker for happy endings.

[Lyander0012]

 

Update

 

I had taken your advice and sent a picture of my Carene and sent it to the store manager. I received an e-mail this morning that he had the pen. Luckily the person who found it realized the value and put it in their safe instead of the lost and found. I am going to pick it up this afternoon.

 

I hope that Kella has a similar experience and the original pen is returned. I know it has special meaning. Plus I am a sucker for happy endings.

 

That is EXCELLENT news!! Congratulations and best of luck with the pen. Also, that manager plus whoever returned the pen probably deserve hearty thanks; a handwritten note sounds about right, all things considered? The Carene is a pen that, had I owned one, I'd be loathe to lose.

 

Glad this had a happy ending. You got your Carene back, and while I still hope that Mary finds her Safari, she's already going to have a stunning Charcoal one from an extremely kind person who shares her passion.

 

 

Threads like these are what make trawling through random forums awesom fun. I freaking love the FPN!

 

Kevin

[DBQMary]

Thank you is completed and ready to post in the morning.

 

I only hope that Kella's precious pen is also returned.

[Buzz_130]

While I'm sorry for the loss of a sentimental pen, I'm also amazed at the generosity and camaraderie of the FPN community. This is certainly a story all of us would like to see in our daily lives.

 

I too lost a Safari. I used it for filling out customs paperwork during an international flight and put it in my shirt pocket. Somewhere along the way of collecting my bags, the Safari fell out. The good news is that I ended up buying a Lamy 2000 to replace it, then a Pelikan, then some vintage Parkers, then some Estie Js... That loss ended up with a silver lining as I jumped into the full range of vintage US and modern international pens.

 

I hope your loss turns out as well as mine to give you the chance to explore the world and community of fountain pens.

 

Buzz

[Kella]

I just went to the local ptc/Greyhound ticket station tonight to pick up a friend for a three day visit until he has to go back to Maryland to finish officer's training. Lo and behold there was a box in the attendant's window with my name on it! My safari has come home! it is worse for wear and has a lot of dings and the cap is cracked so badly the clip fell out but the pen still writes!

 

Apparently a little girl gave it (not to the bus driver )which is why they couldnt find it but to the sheriff who does guard duty at my stop. There was even a note they said she left " I think this might mean a lot to whoever lost it. If you do get this pen back I hope AQ still thinks your his friend". AQ is the name of the Navy corpsman who gave me the pen with the engraving "Friends always Sea friends-AQ) (rather costly for a plastic pen but the pun was always our joke!

 

DBQMary your generosity may have been that awesome karma spike that little girl needed to turn in the cool looking pen! I wrote a note to the girl and put it on the board of the station. There is something to be said for the kindness of a child

[DBQMary]

Totally awesome! Both of us got our precious pens back. It could not have gone any better.

 

Please give the Safari that I sent you to someone who is curious about fountain pens and would benefit from it.

 

I could not be any happier than I am at this moment.

 

There really are good people in this world. We were both helped by others to return our pens.

 

Love the Navy connection too. My son was stationed at Andrews Air Force base and currently lived in Maryland. He is now in Alexandria, VA as he met his fiancé while stationed there.

[Kella]

I will be asking one of my young kids I work with in their middle school writing group if they would like to try it. Some of the kids like calligraphy and the writing instructor's "cursive" (fountain) pen. so if they don;t want it I'm sure one of the "littles" in the big brother-big sister's program might like getting a summer school package with their very own "grown-up" pen.

[DBQMary]

Perfect

[Kella]

DBQMary- You just started a karmic chain reaction of goodness and now it continues. We shall convert everyone to fountain pen addicts with random acts of kindness of the pen and ink variety!

Edited April 14, 2014 by Kella

[Lyander0012]

Bad things happen fairly often in this world of ours, but I'm glad to see that things turned out excellently for you both, anyway. Karma indeed makes itself manifest when people turn to their nicer sides, it seems, which means nothing but good news for you all! Glad to hear about the Safari, really, because of its sentimental value, which I feel the extra "character" adds to. Wish there were more anonymous Samaritans like that around.

 

 

I haven't anything else to say really, so I'll butt out and leave everyone back to enjoying their pens.

 

Kevin

[Kella]

Just got the pen from DBQMary today. In perfect shape and really shiny! Also Runnin_Ute thank you a million for the beautiful ink samples you sent me! I love them! Here's a link to my flickr to see them : https://www.flickr.com/photos/123357758@N08/

[sharonspens]

Oh, this thread is such an amazing tale of good karma! The magic of kindness and paying it forward just, well, just because.

 

Sharon in Indiana