They lived in a brick one bedroom NJ garden apartment that was wedged between the train tracks, with a bus stop right outside their bedroom window on a shared one way dead-end with a trucking depot at the other.
Ah, but they lived on love and drown out the cacophony of noises with the dreamy scratchy records of yester-year found at estate sales and Salvation Army. Busses slooshing by at night in the pouring rain were soon hushed with the strings of violins and accordions at romantic Paris cafes. In the hot summers they heard the subtle needle scratches between croons by Lena, Ella or Dusty. All year long it was Dizzy's horns, not those of the traffic. The train coming in and then out of focus without warning was derailed by many copies of the doppler-effect, opening notes of Rhapsody in Blue. Nothing could top this.
Until one day... at an unassuming estate sale.
There, for $75 dollars was the most room and soul filling hi-fi, console cabinet, with record storage, in working condition, blonde wood, cloth-covered speaker you had ever heard. And did I mention, only $75! But where, in a one room apartment would it go? There was talk of nailing various crafts to the ceiling, maybe this would work? They built a head board and hung it on the wall, maybe something else could go on the wall to make room too? Mature and penny thrift, the young couple passed it by. There will be others, no worries, the future is bright!
& many years later, in their new home, the future was very bright indeed. The sound however, kinda' dull, sad to say. Online searches found nothing. Wasn't there some hipster refurbishing and selling these things? Estate sale after fruitless estate sale lead to more records, Belgian linens, a $35 dollar dining table, a $50 hutch, wonderful Koi-fish-head arm chairs for $40 a pair! Sconces galore! Burberry scarves! even like-minded acquaintances living in lofts in Jersey City... but nothing like the hi-fi that got away.
Until one day, on a lark, they went way out of their way to an Estate Sale run by trusted vendors. The woman running an Estate Sale said, "Oh, honey, did you get that working? Well turn it..." Before she could even utter 'on', the man went off loudly exlaiming, SOLD! Over and over. SOLD! ... SOLD! (SOLD yet again!... he didn't even ask his wife!?!) She was quite pleased though. It was the proper bit of modern, nothing so gruesome as old-world carved wood or too mid-century modern, that it couldn't not pass as being made in the 30's-proper modern (if they had LPs)
And, all these years later, only $25!!!
And today... at long last, the sounds of their thrifty one-bedroom apartment is filled, not with clutter of the train, buses, or crazy neighbors, but in all the glorious tube warmth glow that could be in their Nesting Ranch.
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| Schematic still glued down inside the console. |
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| The record changer holds 9 records and continuously plays perfect. |
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| Magnovox Micromatic Model 1ST621R |
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| Very dusty but working tubes. |
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The End.
Lena Horn - I love Paris
