by Peggy Robin
Moving on to our next category, BEST QUERY, we looked for messages that were not your everyday questions: Not "Who makes the most delicious chocolate cake? (Message #227027) or "Does anyone have a good doctor who is accepting new Medicare patients?" [Message #227642] (though these are fine questions that elicited valuable information!), but something just a bit offbeat, such as......
What do you do with a 110-year-old bronzed baby shoe? Message #230192 by Sharon C. on October 18:
It was my father’s and sentimentality has run its course. Having rescued it when cleaning out the family house many years ago and tucking it away out of sight out of mind, it has now resurfaced as part of the current clean-out. I’m not looking for ways to turn it into a paperweight or other objet d’art—just the best (or most creative) way to dispose of it.
Replies to Sharon all went off-list, but when I told her that her question had been nominated for a Listy, I asked her if she received any good answers, and she replied:
Here are the suggestions I got:
Put the shoe on EBay—a collector will want it
Donate to Goodwill (I would never have thought of that!)
Find an antique resale shop
Offer to a theater for a production
Use for an art/mixed media project
Put on the Trashnothing site (which I had never heard of)
Use as a toothpick holder (this was Eleanor’s idea) 😃
But the two posters who had a similar idea— find a historical society or museum locally where my father grew up (which happens to be a small town in Ohio) and see if they might want the shoe—resonates the most with me so I am likely to try that.
For the present, the shoe is sitting on my dining room table and looking at me somewhat reproachfully.
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Can you help Mrs. Frances Cleveland? Message #225672 by Cassandra H. on May 30:
Mrs. Frances Cleveland would like to borrow a white lace shawl and a white lace fancy parasol for Cleveland Park Day (Sunday June 8th). Can anyone help her? Please let me know.
You will be pleased to hear that Listserv members stepped up to outfit the young, beautiful 19th century First Lady with the fashionable items requested -- but then nature rained on her parade and Cleveland Park Day 2025 had to be called off. Never fear! With a little luck, Mrs. Cleveland will make a stunning appearance, decked out with the finest accessories, at Cleveland Park Day 2026 -- thanks to some helpful Listserv members.
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ISO a safecracker by Terri S. on October 8:
This nomination tells a complete story in three queries that nicely segue from one to the other So the story goes: beginning, middle, end, with a bit of suspense along the way to a happy ending:
The beginning:
ISO a safecracker by Terri S. on October 8, Message #229890
I have inherited a safe with a combination lock whose code is lost. My late mother-in-law compared it to "Al Capone's safe," i.e. empty. But I would like to know. What can be done?
The middle:
Postback: Recommending Locksmith for Safe on Oct 24, Message #230371
After a difficult search I found a locksmith to open an old safe. He came promptly and opened the safe for an affordable price.
He is: Yaniv Goldsmith, GoldyLocks LLC, 1215 26th Rd S, Arlington VA 22202, 703 732, 7494, goldylocks.services@gmail.com
The end:
ISO coin dealer (was: ISO a safecracker) Nov. 3, Message #230665
The safe I inherited had many coins -- some old, many from other countries. In the past I have sold coins to dealers in Silver Spring and Old Georgetown Rd, but I don't know if they are still in business. Any suggestions?
...And a couple of endnotes:
Two messages followed with advice about selling the coins, along with a name of a reputable dealer. It's all in the Listserv archives for anyone who's ever in a similar situation.
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What is this "popcorn" bug?
One day later the little ball of popcorn revealed its true nature to Steph (July 20 # #227316):
Update Re: What is this insect?
A bug story:
The moving piece of popcorn yesterday morphed into this lovely white moth today.
And it flew up 'n' away!
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Roses, more roses, and lilies—oh my by Katherine S. May 31, Message #225641
Valentine season has passed, and what anonymous lover would leave many dozens of red roses and lilies on a church porch? The bounty of flowers shivering in the rain, surely a mis-delivery on Wednesday, is at Cleveland Park Congregational UCC, 3400 Lowell St NW. At the end of choir practice as darkness was falling, it was clear no one was coming to rescue the flowers. So some singers took home some roses. Neighbors, the flowers will still be on the church doorstep Thursday morning. It would be reasonable to take some home.
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The Cleveland Park Listies are posted annually in a series of messages in the "Still Life with Robin" column that usually comes out on Saturdays. This Saturday we did TWO columns, one for Best Animal Story and another for Best Query, to give all five nominees in each category a full airing. Next weekend, we expect to post the five nominees for Best Response to a Query/Best Advice on Saturday, December 6, and then post the five nominees for Best Long Discussion Thread on Sunday, December 7.
When the photo was first posted I didn't look at it very closely or very long, looking at it again now they look pretty limp and sad. My guess is that they were a florist's left-overs and he figuredtheymight make it to Sunday AM but not much further so he left them on the steps of the nearest church with lights still on on Thurs. evening so he knew there was someone inside to take them in.
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