So close yet so far

Imagine this, you were having one of the best days of your life. You discovered a piece of treasure. After admiring it and dreaming of how to display it, in the end you can't have it. This happened to me.

I found a near-perfect Milk Maid wooden crate after much hunting around in my relative's house. The crate was used to hold tins of sweetened condensed milk back in the days when cardboard boxes were not available. It was made from wood in Australia, obviously since it was prepared in Australia, says on the box.

Aside from some small cracks on the top of the crate, everything is in tip-top condition. I queried to have it. Initially the answer is yes. However upon further investigation, it seems the crate is holding some precious items which means I can't have it in the end.

Well, at least I know where to find it whenever I wish to put my fingers upon its engraved letters.

It looks quite new as if your mom just bought it from the grocers yesterday.

The feeling of this close call brings me back during one of my Indian barber session. While flipping through a famous comic, I found this illustration which perfectly describes my encounter.

Something like this happened to me and my mates, seriously.

Speaking from the experience as an amateur relic hunter (ultra-amateur level), for every item found, whether in whole or just part of it, there are many more which lies hidden yet to be discovered. Just need patience, technique, persistence and a bit of intuition. And luck too.

My ordeal with the wooden crate is just one of the many adventures which I felt there are many things out there just waiting and lying around for us to discover.

Whether is it bottle-hunting, coin-combing, brick-finding, insulator-picking or crate-discovering, there's always the case of the fish that got away. So close yet so far. Let's see if our next trip can be more fruitful.

Additional note: Initially if I was to find an additional crate, this one would probably be sold here. Since I can't have this one, the next one I find is definately a keeper. Sorry folks.