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Spikey Mike
July 21st, 2014, 12:02 PM
Back in the early 1970's our family lived in Malaysia, where my father managed a Rubber Plantation, which meant that my brother and I were faced with the inevitable fact that one day we would be packed off to a far away "home" that we had never been to and have to attend something called a "school". Part of the whole deal with going to this school place was that we would own, amongst lots of other things (in those days a pocket knife was a required item of school kit!), a fountain pen. Also around this time my Uncle was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just a few short months to live, so he did what he thought best and threw the mother of all parties to celebrate his last birthday. Being an affluent businessman he wanted to give each and every member of his family a gift to remember him by. He'd obviously thought long and hard about what to get everyone and finally decided that everyone should get a pen each resulting in him buying up what must have been quite literally the entire stock of Parker 75's in the whole country.

However, not everyone got a 75. In traditional Chinese fashion, when it came to the children, only the oldest male child received a shiny sterling silver 75, with younger siblings and girls getting a 45 Flighter instead. Equality was not something that ranked high with my Uncle. Either way we were utterly thrilled with our new pens and actually looked forward to learning how to "write" what ever that meant.

So, a short while later my brother and I were packed off to that far off England place to endure the rigors of a British Public School Education, him with his 75 and me with my treasured 45. When we go there we were surprised that everyone else seemed to be using dull plastic school pens in varying shades of black and that our pens were a bit of a talking point amongst the other kids. Many times we had to retrieve them after they accidentally slipped into someone's pencil case or pocket. Somehow my brother managed to hold on to his 75 throughout his education where as my 45 finally managed to escape from me and into the pocket of one of my thieving classmates within a month. However, in the time that I had it, it made a lasting impression on me and won the plain old 45 a place in my heart for life. Since then I have always had a 45 as my pen of choice, and even today sat on my desk is a battered old 45 TX which is my current everyday writer.

To end the story ... my brother went on to be a journalist with one of the top UK papers, and last Christmas surprised me by handing me his old original 75 as a gift. My Uncle, who had inadvertently started my love of fountain pens, went on living for another 25 years before dying quietly in his sleep in his late 80's, not a bad innings for someone with just months to live back in 1973.

So, here is my brother's 75 and my replacement 45 Flighter ...
http://pencollect.co.uk/personal/2bro.jpg

manoeuver
July 21st, 2014, 01:21 PM
Thanks for that amazing story!

Jeph
July 21st, 2014, 01:49 PM
A great story and stunning pictures!

Harsh108
July 22nd, 2014, 02:48 PM
Wow... Very nice.

Ronnie Aloha
July 24th, 2014, 08:08 AM
I love this story. Thank you for sharing it.

DMurphy
July 25th, 2014, 07:48 AM
As stated by others "Thank You" for sharing this story. It is an inspiring story of the value of a gift is not the item but the thoughts and memories that we have of the giver and the use of the item.

Hawk
July 25th, 2014, 09:36 AM
Thank you for your story, I enjoyed it.

Newjelan
July 25th, 2014, 09:48 AM
Great story and nice pens

chatminouche
July 29th, 2014, 10:57 AM
Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing!! :)