In 1982, when my family needed money, my parents made the tough decision to sell a 1945 Chevy Pickup. (If you're in the know, you may say no such thing existed. They only made about 6000 chevy pickups in 45, but they DID make some.) This truck was the very first thing they purchased as a married couple. They spent a whopping $100 on it, and it was their primary vehicle for several years. My mother has remarked more than once that her only regret was selling that truck.

Ever since my parents have been in a position to replace the truck, they have been looking for one similar. This week, my dad bid on a 1941 Chevy on Ebay, and just as he was about to win the auction, he found another auction. There it was: A 1945 Chevy pickup with 1981 Sheridan, WY plates. It was for sale in our own town here in Nebraska. What were the odds? He looked at the pictures. A familiar board missing from the bed of the truck, patches of that same light grey paint... This was THEIR truck, right there on Ebay!!

Well, they won that other auction, and are now frantically trying to make arrangements with both sellers so that their truck can come home to them. Both sellers are guys, and both are sympathetic to my dad's story, and willing to work with him as long as their $$ is not at stake. Since the reserve on the '45 hasn't been met, the seller COULD choose to remove the auction at any time, and sell it to my dad instead.

I was 6 when the truck was sold, and even I remember it fondly, and remember how sad it made my father that he had to sell it. My mother said she woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about it. The seller arranged for them to come look at it tonight, and mom says she'll have a hard time sitting in it without crying. Meanwhile, I am just hoping that everything can be worked out, because if they miss this opportunity, it will haunt them the rest of their lives.

So, my question is, is there an object from your past with which you identify so closely? Something you'd do almost anything to get back if you were given the opportunity? And how far would you go?

Well, I can't think of an object that I want back so much right off the top of my head, but I do know of a story that involves my mother.

When my mom was a child, she had a bride doll. I've seen pictures of it, and it was very beautiful. Anyway, she played with it as a child, and when she reached her teens she didn't really play with it anymore but she kept it on her bed because it meant something to her. Now, my mom was raised by her grandparents, and my great-grandmother was NOT a pack-rat, meaning that if something wasn't used anymore, it got thrown away, no matter the sentimental value. Anyway, she saw that my mom wasn't playing with the doll anymore, so one day while my mom was at school she threw the doll away, without asking my mom's permission. She was so sad! In fact, if you mention the bride doll to her now, she still gets upset.

That's my story, and it's really too bad that my mom can't ever get that bride doll back! I've tried to buy her another one just to have, but being a typical mom, she won't let me and doesn't want me spending my money on her.

Mine isn't a large item like your family's truck. When I was little, my grandmother had this Christmas card holder which I loved. It had a plastic elf face and a felt holder for cards. There was a pull string under the elf's little bow. I used to pull the string and listen to the unmistakable sound of Silent Night played in that old style music box fashion. Well, the elf was very old and he fell apart. My gram threw it away when I was 17 or 18. I missed that elf, silly as it sounds.

Several years ago, I found an exact duplicate of my elf on Ebay. Surprisingly enough, I won the auction for a relatively small amount. Now, every Christmas, my elf is proudly displayed and my daughter and nephews enjoy the music. It is quite possibly the least attractive decoration you've ever laid eyes on, but it brings back so many memories.

My Dad who passed away many years ago now was a WWII Vet and I remember as a lad going through a shoe box in the basement of our home and finding 6 medals he was awarded. All were service medals for the various parts of Europe he fought in and for volunteering etc. At the time I thought they were neat and put them away.

After my father died my mother who was a war bride moved back to England where she had family and past away there. My brother and I never did find my Dad's medals, perhaps Mom tossed away the box without looking inside. I would have liked to have the orginals but I did the next best thing. I wrote to the Canadian Government got his Army records and wrote to the Govt. agency that looks after medals. Once I proved what medals he received I was able to get replicas from them. It cost a bit but it was worth it. I had a plaque made up and had them mounted with a Photo of my Dad in his uniform with his dates of Service. It hangs in our home in a place of honor, because of his sacrifice I live in one of the best countries in the world.

When I was little my family had a mini van. I had my all county chorus bumper stickers on it. My parents had to sell the van, again because of financial reasons. I tried so hard to get them off, and they peeled off in strips. I cried that they didn't come of whole. I still have the sticky ball of scraps from them somewhere in my memory box.

Nice thread, Lothruin. I hope your parents get the Chevy Pickup!

I, like AlienGoddess, have a story that involves my mom.

When she was about 8 years old, her sister had given her a wooden, hand-painted ruler as a gift. She took it to school every day. One day the girl that sat next to my mom in class took her ruler and kept it. As my mom was so shy, she didn't say anything and she never got the ruler back.

I wish I could get her a ruler like that one! I get so upset with that girl whenever my mom tells this story.

Well, the auction ended today, and my parents' truck is coming home. I'm not sure how my mother feels about it, as the guy who was selling it, having realized it was a rare vehicle, decided to make as much off it as he could. Hard to blame him, really, and he made a pretty penny, but I think he saw $$ when my parents told him how badly they wanted it. Ah well, live and learn. Either way, they won the auction and the seller of the other truck (the one they won last week) has made arrangements to let them out of the auction. I'm glad. It needed to come home.

I've had a number of small items I liked go missing over the years as I think everyone would have, but I can trump your large item with one I've mentioned before, our old house!
I lived there from the age of 5 to 33, and though I loved the people and community where I lived before (we were constantly in and out of the neighbours and knew many shopkeepers names, which was very unusual for London) I got very used to the old family house. Due to divorce, it had to be sold and split between my parents, so even though I'd had my own place as well since I was 28, it was still there for a while. Living elsewhere for 11 years now but visiting my Mum off the same road regularly I realise how much I'd prefer to live in that area, and ideally back in that house if I could. Your truck shows long-lost items can return to their owners sometimes, and if I ever became rich I'd offer the owners whatever they wanted to buy it back from them before I started looking for another house nearby. Some people have returned to their family homes years later but money is the major component which would either mean in my case a very fortunate marriage or finally selling some of my articles to a major newspaper on a huge scale. But we can all dream

I can empathise with you on that one, Sat. My family home in Wyoming was sold about 10 years ago (has it really been that long?!?) because my grandmother could no longer care for the place herself. This was the farm, THE place, 72 acres, two houses and a trailer, the first land my great-great grandfather bought after moving here from Poland in the late 1800's. It was, for a while, a coal mining town, with the mine on the property. It is where I was born, where I played, and it had seen generations of my family raised before me.

After my aunts and uncles had all moved out of the place and my grandmother, widowed many years earlier, before I was even born, was left there alone to care for the huge farmhouse and the garden and field beside it, plus all the out buildings, it simply wasn't an option for her to stay there any longer. But my aunts and uncles bickered over who should live there; who'd put more time and effort into the place while they'd lived there, who loved grandma more, etc., and in the end my grandmother told my dad he was the only one she'd give the place to, because he was the only one not fighting over it. Being able to afford it would mean moving back to Wyoming, which my parents didn't want to do just then, so the house and most of the 72 acres went up for sale.

Of all the things I miss about my childhood, that place is at the top of the list, and if a hefty sum of money ever came my way, back into my family that land would come. It's hard to have a place so associated with your family and yourself no longer be a part of your life. I know the 100 years our family owned the place is nothing compared to some of the age-old family homes in Europe, but it's pretty darned long for THIS country, and I'd like to make it longer.

Not nearly as old as the Chevy, but I had a '69 Ford XT that I'd driven around for over fourteen years, ran it into a power pole and wrote it off! I now have a 'replacement' vehicle and am saving my pennies up to replace my lovely old Ford. My husband hated that car, could not understand how I could enjoy driving a 'heap' with no power steering, no air-con, no 'mod-cons', but, I got attached to it and had many happy memories of trips etc in it and was only the third owner from new - the old gent I bought it from had tears welling up in his eyes when I took it back a month after I'd bought it with a new paint job, the engine all cleaned up and shining like new - he's dead now, God rest his soul, and I want another Ford XT . . . they just don't make cars like they used to . . .