Grapefruit Italia

Some of my favorite places to look for cans are flea markets and antique stores.  Two days ago, I was with a couple of people checking out a row of antique stores.  Only one store had cans.  And as usual, they were beer cans (which I don't collect.)

As I dug through the boxes I noticed an 11.15 oz can of Sanpellegrino grapefruit juice.  Must be foreign, I thought.  And sure enough, the can stated it was a "Product of Italy,"  which was a European country I didn't have a can from yet.  So I walked up front and asked the clerk how much the cans were.  He said $3 each.  I said I found a can of grapefruit juice and offered $1.50.  He accepted the offer.

He proceeded to tell me the cans had been collected by his neighbor, a university professor, on his travels.  When the neighbor moved, the cans were left behind and this clerk ended up with them.  I thought $1.50 was worth a can from Italy that even had a little story behind it. 

After antique shopping, we drove a couple of miles to a nearby farmers market.  While perusing the fresh fruits and vegetables, I noticed a display case that had cans!  And what did I see for $1.90?  A can of Sanpellegrino grapefruit juice exactly like the one I just bought!!! 

Not only did I save $.40, but I also had a new story for my blog about a can whose own story is now questionable in my mind. I consider that a success.

Si vince, si perde un po.

Returning to the Blog

Ah...
Sometimes a break is needed.  But when you're on vacation from your job, do you find yourself thinking about what you could be doing if you were back at work?  So it has been with my break from this blog.

Over the last few months I've continued collecting cans.  Maybe I could stop the blog, but I couldn't stop the collecting.  And as time passed, I kept recognizing more and more stories I could have been sharing or new cans that I could have shown.

I've had a couple of conversations recently that encouraged me to start blogging again.  So I have decided to get it going.  I'll begin slow and eventually get back to the frequency of posts I had earlier this year. 

So what is this about a can of grapefruit juice from Italy?  Stay tuned for that story and more...