Saturday Morning, April 25, 2026
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
When is enough, enough? When is satisfaction, satisfied? When is the top, topped? If you walk, talk, and think, and you are human, well, then never. Success is elusive, particularly in our minds. Status quo a curse. I know I can do better. I know I can do more. Unwavering commitment.
North American Mountain Goat, a taxidermy treasure.
Selection of comic books - Up, Up, and Away
Albert Einstein. Thomas Edison. George Washington. George Washington Carver. Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. Dare we mention the latter two? Drive swears no allegiance, good or evil. It stands alone in the pantheon of history though charter members they weren't. Without this human trait, the world might as well stop revolving. History litters the planet with examples. Greece's Acropolis. Egypt's Giza Plateau. Peru's Machu Pichu. Ohio's Serpent Mound. The Taj Mahal. Easter Island. Endless testimonials. Humans, always seeking, forever vanishing, leaving Friday footprints in their wake.
Climb Every Mountain
For most of us, foothills offer enough challenge. Sisyphus would find little interest in rolling his boulder up and down our knolls. If he had, would his legend have survived millennia? Doubtful.
Antiquated defined in this Christ child reliquary, 16½" H.
Victorian 14k gold brooch, first cousin to the cameo.
Daily challenges against the tide of time are enough for the everyday person. Just walking upright seems difficult. Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. What that object may be is never clearly defined. But, within our Badlands, we do score victories. Graduations. Job promotions. Birth. Even death. Life, a neat package tied with stretchy wraps at the beginning and a fitted shroud at the end. Tidy. Our challenges may not be legendary, but our behavior can just justify our humanity.
Soul Sacrifice
This past Monday, April 20th, the annual Boston Marathon was held. A grueling race, 26.2 miles long, attracts athletes worldwide. But not all victories are recorded in the race results. With only two blocks remaining, university student Ajay Haridasse collapsed. Despite four falls, he fought to regain his stride, only able to crawl.
Seth Thomas pillar & scroll, after Eli Terry, first quarter nineteenth century.
14k gold opal & garnet ring...
Marathons are legendary for exacting a death toll. From behind him, forty-year-old Irish runner, Aaron Beggs, stopped, and reaching down, pulled Ajay to his feet. Stumbling forward they were caught by thirty-six-year-old Brazilian athlete Robson De Oliveira. Holding Ajay between them, all three crossed the finish line. The gain for Ajay was qualifying for the 2027 race. The sacrifice for the two runners was a compromise to time, one, trading his best for saving Ajay. This victory will never be etched on a South Dakota mountain or announced in Faneuil Hall, but saving a kindred soul? There are few equals.
Justifying the Squeams
Warren Buffet illustrates a poignant story. No matter how financially successful you are, how will your human worth be measured at the end? By how many cars you drive, properties you own, toys you flaunt? The entire experience filters down to how many people really love you. Not for money or association, but simply the human emotion. It cannot be purchased, nor bartered.
Fabergé replica crystal egg, 7½ H.
...with matching gold opal and garnet earrings.
In his 2003 speech at the University of Lincoln in Nebraska, he reveals this truth, expressing it in a meaningful way. He talks of a Polish immigrant Jew, a person he has known. A survivor of Auschwitz, she told Warren, when she meets people, one question forever lingers. Would they hide me? When the world sinks to the bottom of the sea, who can you trust as a friend. No better question could be asked. The best victories are never recorded in the Hall of Time. They remain invisible, unknown, sealed forever, only shared by those who participate. Carpe Diem.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]