When I was helping my parents move into their apartment in an Assisted Living Manor a couple of months ago, my Mom told me a story I had never heard before. She was 17-years-old, graduating from high school, and going off to college. Her three best friends bought her a hand-shaped compact as a graduation and goodbye gift. She loved the beautiful, unusual compact. She told me about it, describing it's little fingers, the oval mirror inside, and the small powder section.
She had showed some people at her cafeteria table the beautiful compact, which she had only had a short time. She could not get over how lovely it was, and how much it meant to her that those three good friends had bought it for her. Then she put it in her purse. She grabbed her wallet from her purse, and left the table briefly to buy lunch. When she sat back down with her lunch, and returned the wallet to her purse, the compact was gone! Horrified, she knew the girl sitting next to her (a famous singer's sister) must have taken the compact.
She begged the girl to give her back her compact. My mom is gentle and shy, and it must have taken every ounce of courage to ask the girl to return the compact. The girl refused. The girl's sister walked by, and asked what the problem was. Mom explained what had happened, and even the sister pleaded with the girl to return the compact. Mom was in tears by now, telling the thief that the compact was not of monetary value, but of great emotional value. Still, the girl refused to give Mom back her compact. Imagine that -- 65 years later, Mom still remembered sadly the theft of that compact which had meant so much to her.
When I got home from NY, I googled "hand shaped compact from 1940s". I got several hits. Picture after picture of lovely hand-shaped compacts. They all looked exactly the same, so I knew they must be identical to the compact Mom had owned. The few I saw for sale were $300. I then contacted my sister Amy who solves anything thrown at her, and told her I needed her to find me a hand-shaped compact from the 1940s, and I was willing to pay up to $50.
Amy wrote back instantly. She found a hand-shaped compact on E-bay auction right at that moment, and the auction closed in four hours. The bid was currently $15. I had never bid on E-bay before. Amy instructed me not to bid till the last minute and then bid fast and furiously in the last few seconds before the auction closed.
For the next four hours, I chomped on my nails, and watched for any bids on the compact. No one was bidding. Everyone was apparently waiting for the last minute. In a fit of impatience, I bid $16 with 5 minutes to go. I was the high bidder. In the closing minute, someone outbid me. In the last second, I squeezed in a final bid of $23. What heart thumping excitement when I saw "Congratulations, you have the winning bid."
Now, I had known this compact was not in "perfect condition" like the $300 compacts I had seen. The brass was rubbed away in spots, the clasp didn't work, and the little mirror was gone. Still, I was ecstatic. I wrote to the seller, and told him the story. He was as happy as I was that I had won the auction.
The compact arrived two days later in the mail. As I breathlessly unwrapped it, I decided I would refurbish the compact as perfectly as I could. My Mom was still mourning the theft of her compact 65 years later. Maybe I could right one small wrong in the world.
First I took the compact to a jeweler. "Can you fix this clasp?"
The jeweler examined it. "Doubtful. I would have to send it to my shop in New York city, and they might be able to, but this is very old, and they would have to take it all apart and somehow find the same sized piece. And to gild the gold again to restore the finish...it would be $300."
All the jewelers I showed it to told me the same sad story.
Then I went searching for a tiny mirror to replace the lost mirror. I found drugstore compacts with little round mirrors, but no oval mirrors like I needed. I called several glass/mirror companies. No one could do a job so small. Finally, after two days of store hopping and calls, I found one willing and able to cut a small thin mirror. They even glued it securely in place. $8.
That done, a brainstorm swirled into my head. I brought the compact to "the watch doctor" in our local mall. Pocket watches have clasps. Maybe the watch doctor could fix my clasp! He told me he wasn't sure but he would try. He could not do it in an hour, like most of his repairs. "Leave it with me, and come back tomorrow. I will do my best."
I returned the next day. He handed me the compact with a fixed clasp! $15.
Next, I found an old picture of my mom, from the 40s. The photo was of her during the time when she was just entering college. She was a total hottie, a gorgeous woman. She always has been, and still is.
I went to Walgreens with the photo and asked them to help me size it and print it to fit on the little section opposite the mirror inside the compact. A wonderful saleswoman helped me, completely invested in my project when I told her what it was for. Soon, I had a little photograph just the right size for my compact. I brought it home, and decoupaged it into the inside of the compact opposite the mirror.
Next, I called sister Amy again. How could I possibly restore the beautiful gold luster to the old compact? I could not afford gold plating, but surely, there was something I could do. Amy sent me links for gold gilding paint at local stores. I bought the paint, as well as new brushes, and carefully painted the compact. It took five coats to cover all the brush strokes, and each coat had to dry a full hour before the next coat could be applied. This was an all day project. Then I carefully repainted the fingernails with red enamel. Paint cost: $4.
No way could I just mail it to Mom. I would plan another visit to NY, and soon. I wanted to give it to her myself, and see her face when she opened my gift. With perfect timing, Sister Wendy from Seattle planned a visit to my folks. I met her in Baltimore, where she flew in for a conference, and drove her up to NY. She was the one who filmed the video of Mom opening the compact.
Mom's gasp when she saw the compact was worth every second spent in this incredible God-bathed journey. Unfortunately, in the original telling of her story, she had somehow forgotten to include the detail that her stolen compact was blue. However, other than that, it was just like the one she had 65 years ago. A small wrong was righted.
Thank you for sharing this incredible journey of love. I totally enjoyed reading every moment.
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