An Old Oak Table

Today I parted with an  object that's been with me for 43 years. In  four different apartments in NYC: an attic, a loft, a brownstone parlor, a Park Slope garden floor through and finally to our new home in Austin.  It was one of the few pieces of old oak furniture we took with us from Brooklyn.  And today the time had come.  I sold it to a  lovely teacher and her musician husband. I like them a lot and was so happy they inherited this piece of my history. She's a lover of old antique furniture and  loved this table's history.  In 1969 about to graduate college and move into my first apartment in Little Neck, Queens I found this table for sale through the VILLAGE VOICE.  The seller  was a kooky   woman claiming to be a Kentucky debutante fleeing the country.  Her two year old son was unraveling a sweater from the 24th floor of their apartment during the sale.  I paid $70 for this beautiful old oak table with lions heads and claws.  And today when we packed it onto the back of their pick-up truck I took photos, got tearful and remembered all of the nights my kids did homework at that table, glued projects for school, painted pictures, played games, had birthday parties, celebrated Thanksgiving, New Year's, Jewish holidays.  Abe asked me why I wanted to part with it. "Time to move on," I said.  And besides I want  that beautiful big mango table I saw at FOUR HANDS.