[Northkeep] Talana Plunders Medici Bank - Film at Eleven

[vujadea200 at aol.com]

Talana,
While you are in VA, you should go for all the walks you can.  Be sure to look up every once in a while though :) 

Congratulations.  That is sure to make your vacation great :) 

Adena 






-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Carlson <talana1 at hotmail.com>
To: northkeep lists.ansteorra.org <northkeep at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Tue, Mar 1, 2011 4:05 pm
Subject: [Northkeep] Talana Plunders Medici Bank - Film at Eleven



ood evening, Northkeep,

ince some of you may see it on the news tomorrow, I figured I'd best be 
re-emptive and explain why you will see me acting like an idiot on TV. . . .

 couple of years ago, I found a broken pendant on the sidewalk.  Although the 
arkings on the back were worn nearly away, I could tell it was good stuff, not 
lectroplated.  I put it in my pocket, because that's what you do with things 
ou find when you're out walking, and when I got home I tossed it in a drawer 
nd forgot about it, until last month, during the blizzard.  

fter three days stuck at home, I had cleaned the house, reorganized my fabric 
tash (no mean feat, that), and had gotten down to straightening out my desk 
rawers, when the pendant resurfaced.  I thought "gold prices have shot up over 
he last couple of years.  I ought to sell this."  I put it back in the now 
emi-tidy drawer, and again forgot about it until last week, when I was helping 
 friend clean out her mother's house, and she made a remark about having found 
 place to sell some old coins and jewelry.  I remembered I needed to sell that 
endant, since Diarmaid and I will be driving to Virginia in March (while you 
ll are at Gulf Wars), and every little bit helps when gas prices are what they 
re.  A few days later, a co-worker suggested I use Tulsa Gold and Gems (this is 
 shameless plug for TG&G, but you'll understand in a minute), which is close to 
here I live.  I had some errands to do in that part of town on Saturday, so I 
tuck the pendant in my pocket and head
ed over.

et me tell you, the spirit of the di Medici lives on.  You go from the street 
nto a tiny hallway, and from thence into an elevator.  An elevator that is, I 
ust say, obscenely tricked out in oak paneling and acanthus-leaf crown molding.  
t deposits you in a hallway of rich, dark wood lined with benches, which made 
e recall my Roman history professor talking about the great Roman patricians 
nd how their cliente (people who wanted to get favors from/do business with 
hem) would wait in the vestibule of the patrician's villa for their turn to do 
usiness.  After getting past the door guard - a security lock by which you are 
uzzed into an inner chamber - I filled out some paperwork, and was instructed 
o wait until they had assayed my paltry little pendant.  I sat on a very nice 
eather sofa, watching three HD TVs, mounted on walls covered in gold-tone wall 
aper and more expensive panelling, and decided that this definitely was the 
odern equivalent of the business wing of
 a Florentine palazzo.

 few minutes later, a clerk called my name, and gave me a very good price for 
y little piece of gold.  He told me that Tulsa Gold and Gems holds a contest 
very month in which you guess what the closing price of gold will be on the 
ast business day of the month.  I asked what it had closed at on Friday, 
onsidered that the Asian and Middle Eastern markets would be open on Sunday, 
nd that the craziness raging in Bahrain and Libya wasn't going to resolve 
vernight, and rattled off a figure.

ell, I won.  I came within seven cents of nailing yesterday's closing price.  
o, this morning, I stepped into the Money Booth, a plexiglass case the size of 
 small shower stall, with a pile of cash on the floor.  They locked me in and 
urned on a fan, and gave me thirty seconds to catch as many flying bills as I 
ould.  For half a minute, I grabbed money and stuffed it into my sweater like a 
ad woman.  My take came to $1,170.

 declare to one and all that I am more than satisfied with my first Tulsa Gold 
nd Gems customer experience.

ou can watch my brazen display of greed and my total lack of dignity on Channel 
 tomorrow on the 10:00 pm broadcast.  And yes, Diarmaid took pictures and will 
ost them on his Flickr page tonight.

eeling like a condottieri after a good campaign season,

alana                    
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