Herban Sprawl

It started out with a trip to a “collectible” store where I was hunting for a gift for a family member. I have a fondness for miniatures and I always enjoyed a walk through their collection of village pieces. You know – those exorbitantly priced lighted china buildings people tend to display at Christmas. And that’s when I got into big trouble.

I learned how to wait until pieces were being retired so they would be on sale. And, in some cases, if they were gifts, they got bought before that time. I found something for everyone, although the one that made me laugh the hardest was the drive-in I got for BubbaChet. It was probably the best thing I ever could have found… I even got a couple of little cars for it. One for him and one for his dear spouse. (Hers is the Vette, of course!)

The thing is, my own collection began. And like anything that has the potential to mushroom, I created some brakes to keep it under control. Mine is Little Chicago. The first item was Wrigley Field, followed by a bar and a souvenir shop. Next was the Art Institute, and finally it was the Water Tower, courtesy of my brother Clarice. In between I had been collecting the little cars. I love little cars! My favorite is the 1950 Studebaker, of course.

But Clarice’s Water Tower needed the side street boutiques that are germane to the upper Michigan shopping experience. They came out with Milano of Italy. In the window is a top hat and cane – perfect for Fred Astaire to glide down the avenue in his white tie and tails. A closeout added streetlights, and then I found lighted trees that reminded me of when the Magnificent Mile was first lit up with “Italian lights.”

I’ve also been searching for a little restaurant similar to the one I gave Anna a bunch of years ago. What’s upper Michigan without an elegant little restaurant around the corner from the Water Tower?

Then came the biggest mistake of my life. I decided to browse eBay. I have done that periodically to see if there are any coveted pieces of china, and also to track Anna’s Rosenthal so I know how the prices are going. (That’s another story-) I wondered if any of my pieces were being sold and what they were fetching.

Then I saw it. A vendor from Wisconsin was selling a Frango Factory. I nearly fell out of my chair. I signed up for eBay privileges, signed up for PayPal and jumped in.

It should arrive tomorrow.

BGF has an idea for a hollow shelf so that I can deal with all the tiny wires from the trees, streetlights and the buildings. He told me to measure. But until this eBay thing, I thought I was done. I learned that the company makes pieces for private concerns, such as this Frango Factory that was sold only at Marshall Field’s. That’s when I emailed the Vienna Hot Dog folks and requested a hot dog stand, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to suggest a lighted Robie House.

Big Kitty has been commissioned to make me a soundtrack of songs about the Windy City, and I swear, until they make a Vienna hot dog stand and/or Robie, I’m done. Well, unless they make a Hancock Center, or the Wrigley Building, or a lift span bridge, or the Picasso…