They’re selling Mike Brady’s Hair on Ebay—and I think I want it

 

A few nights ago, I came home from work, plopped down on my couch & turned on the tv; there was a promo airing for that night’s ‘Entertainment Tonight’, where it was reported that poor Maureen McCormick was once again heavy, and had gained back all the weight she’d lost on ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ PLUS an additional forty pounds.

(The first thing I thought was poor Marcia—I mean Maureen; the second thing I thought was this is really a news headline?  

Then I opened my laptop and jumped online, I had to see how big she is now.

A quick gander in cyberspace didn’t turn up anything, but you know how online searches work:  one minute you’re looking for ‘Maureen McCormick 2009’ & the next thing you know you’re looking at a list of recently added Brady Bunch items for sale on Ebay.  And that’s when I saw it—Mike Brady’s hair up for auction, with a certified letter of authenticity from Robert Reed’s daughter.

Well, not exactly his hair—but the wig & moustache he wore in the bizarre 1973 episode "You're Never Too Old", where Reed played his character Mike Brady's grandfather, Judge "Hank" Brady.   (In the episode, Marcia & Jan decide to fix up Granddad Brady with THEIR great grandma, keeping things all in the family, so to speak.)   For Brady fanatics like myself, it was a surreal episode--I was accustomed to seeing Robert Reed as a dad, not an actor.

“You'll really dig our Grandma, Grandpa Brady--she's positively groovy!"

Anyway--I notice that there are 2 bids on it, with 5 days left to go on the auction--the current bid is at $277.00.

I can only imagine what the final hour of that auction will bring; anyone with Ebay experience knows you only place your bid in the remaining few minutes.

The hairpieces & sworn letter from Robert Reed's daughter 

I admit I was tempted to place a bid myself; I grew up with this show like millions of other kids in the early seventies, not including later generations who watched it in endless years of syndication.  Who wouldn't want to own such an interesting piece of Brady History?

But the more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder--what would I do with it?  Hide it away in my bedroom closet?  Create a small Brady shrine with an assortment of Brady photos & the framed letter from Robert Reed's daughter?  And why was this item even for sale, okay, so maybe it doesn't deserve to be in the Smithsonian with the Fonz' leather jacket & Archie Bunker's chair, but... hey waitaminute.  It DOES deserve to be there!

Well, I knew that there were probably a thousand eyes on this item, and out of those, a few eccentric collectors as well.  Mike Brady may have only been a TV dad to his bunch, but I wasn't the only kid who watched & waited to see how he'd react to his brood's latest shenanigans--he demanded lessons learned over laughtracks. 

And I'm also sure I wasn't the only one who used him as a 'measuring stick' when it came to my own dad's love & discipline.

My dad & me on my ninth birthday--I fancied myself an artist like him, & got my very own easel & art supplies

I knew someone out there was going to pay a small fortune for those items--I couldn't wait to see how this auction would turn out. 

So, several nights later, I was getting ready for bed when it suddenly hit me-it's been a week, the auction ended today.  I jumped up & turned on the computer and went to Ebay.  Wait, what?  

The item had sold alright—but there were only 3 bids and the final amount was $287.00.  Okay, so maybe there weren't as many foolish people out there as I thought... or most likely, just unaware.  Truth be told, I didn't feel I missed out on anything though.

I’ve got my own dad's watch, arrowhead necklace, assortment of drawings & other Dad things.  They're enough.

Still looking for a place to hang my hat (and not doing much else, darn it)

 

I don't think I've been very good company lately; in fact, I'm sure of it.  I've been doing a lot of eye rolling and heavy sighing at people in my office, and the other day someone asked for half a buck & I told them I didn't have it--then realized I DID have the two bits, handed it over & hissed at him to stop hitting me up for dough. 

Well, I didn't actually hiss until he arched his eyebrows and remarked on the coin purse I was holding;  that once belonged to my grandpap!   The thing is, I was rude just the same.  I guess I've just been feeling a lot of frustration lately, both at work (there's too much of it) & on the homefront, where I'm back to square one with the property search.

For those who've been following, I had pretty much made my mind up on the condo building in the neighborhood close to mine--the Summit.  I wasn't exactly thrilled with the offerings within, but the location was perfect.  (And it's all about location, right?)  Well...

My realtor Harper in the kitchen during our final walkthru & inspection 

I went there last weekend for a final walkthru; I was told my offer was a good one & would be accepted.  But I soon learned there was water rot in the walls above the cupboards (which had to be replaced anyway--they were cheap particle board with wooden fronts).  And I couldn't remove the thick cables strapped across the ceilings, as they were the phone & cable hookups.  What?!   (A handy neighbor also pointed out that the high association fees did NOT include the utilities promised, namely heat.) 

But what killed the deal was a closer inspection of the walls within the unit--all cheap pasteboard, and surprisingly thin, too. 

The heavy cinderblock ceiling looked out of place on top of them; no amount of paint was going to fix that.  I informed Harper I was no longer interested.  Now what?

 

Over the river & thru the woods... welcome to Emsworth

Approximately 2.6 miles from my apartment lies Emsworth, a community with Rt.65 running right thru the middle.  It's woodsy and hilly with houses, apartment & condo complexes--and not much else. 

However, the property taxes are much cheaper and the condos are newer and in much better shape.  I'm thinking this may be my best bet. 

 

A panoramic view of one of the available units--nice, but I've been fooled before 

 

I'll be going to see it this week.  I'm a little suspicious of the low asking price, but there's a few other things to consider--how close it is to public transportation, for one. 

And most importantly, can I call that particular neck of the woods home.

Well, as usual I wanted to talk about other things--I guess the property search has been consuming most of my thoughts (as evidenced by my so-called blogs.)   I think I'm going to hold off on further ramblings about finding a new teepee until I know better what I'm doing next.