[ATM] My summer vacation, as per Mike's request

["Russell Jocoy" <russjocoy@hotmail.com>]

   Well, I guess it starts with buying the contents of a storage area 
located
in West Palm Beach, Fla.  Whether good or bad, it was an experience I will 
never
forget.
     I first learned of the contents of this storage bay on the ATM list, 
which
was listed, on his own website, by the person I bought the contents from. 
The contents were listed
as Grinding and polishing machines,, 2 Strasbaugh lens or mirror grinding
machines, various (and numerous pieces of pyrex cut offs and pieces),
4 full sheets of 1-5/8"x 48"x 60" Pyrex sheets, nine 17.5" x 1-5/8" pyrex
blanks that were damaged, 5 - 3/4" x 40"x 55" sheets of plate glass.
    As I looked at the listing on the internet I decided it was a lost 
cause,
since I thought this stuff was somewhere in California.(Little to my 
knowledge
it actually originated in California and ended up in my back yard, 45 miles 
away)
    Many on the ATM list put out bids and dibs and scrabled to make access
to obtain this Jewel. There was one problem.... The seller wanted the 
contents
removed in 4DAYS!!... Since he had been paying rent for 6 years storing this 
stuff
he (his wife) was fed up paying rent...
     This is where I come into the picture..,  I found out through a phone 
call
that this stuff was located one hour from me, I had to go look, come on at 
least
go look!!   Well I went 50 miles south and contacted the man and went to 
look,..
the storage bay door had a busted spring on the overhead and could not be 
opened.
  I did get to see the 17.5" blanks, which was the only reason I returned.
I returned 2 days later and with some maintenance guys proping up the door I 
looked at a storage bay soo packed that you could'nt walk in..
   I did buy the contents of the storage bay, but there was no way I could 
get
all of the contents out in 4 days. My only saving grace was to rent the same 
storage bay from the landlord for the time it would take to unload...(this
should take maybe a month?? WRONG...)
    After I made this deal some on the list said that I cut them out or was
trying to capitalize on a situation. To tell the truth I wish someone else 
would
have taken the dive. Yes I did make my money back and then some but, after 3 
months of rent and traveling 100miles a day for access, then taking 5 days 
off
work and dealing with cutting 5 sheets of 3/4" plate glass into 4 pieces 
each
just to transport (using a spray bottle since there was no water access).
   I won't go further on what I went through since it doesn't matter now.
  Stuart H. came down from Denver and loaded up all the big Pyrex sheets, 
and
two machines, and etc.. Three days to pack and load this up. The Pyrex 
sheets
were 400lbs each and we used a shop crane (which I bought for this purpose)
to load them up. We built interlocking wooden crates on site to house the 
sheets.
We cut up a 1000lb 10 station antique polishing machine into 3 pieces so it 
would fit into Stuart's Truck... 3 ten hour days in 90degree weather.
    The storage bay is now empty, the big disks are gone, the big sheets are 
gone,
and I still have a bunch of glass on the side of my yard that the wife just
cannot understand. I have been ordered to get a storage shed to get this 
sh-t
outa here. I have fallen into the glass cutting mode once again and have not
polished in over 6 months, and probably won't again for another 6 months.
  Oh yes ,James Lerch was the first on the scene at the glass mine to take 
spoils.
He made out OK but he had to haul away a 1000lb monster for the deal....
            All of the glass and blanks I sell will be to ATMer's and at 
very low
profit. My interest in buying the contents of this storage area was to save 
it
from being sent to the dump or landing in some retailers hands that would 
not
even consider the novice ATMer..   that was my summer ..so far  Russ 
Jocoy...

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