Today me and my son Ben went to the new flea market in town. Actually it is the old flea market that has changed locations three times in five years. I wasn't too impressed by the wares. So much of it was cell phone holders and over glossed pictures of Niagra Falls. All the good stuff is commissioned at antique stores I thought. Ben, never one for browsing, was getting antsy. One more aisle I said to him.

As we turned the corner I saw a familiar face. Kay the jewelry lady. Oh my God it's you we said in unison. She looked older, she had lost her husband two years back. She saw Ben and her eyes light up. That can't be....she started. Yes it is I said. At 6'3" 260 lbs. Ben is hard not to be noticed. She took his face in her frail little hands and looked at him as only a woman who is a mother can. His star is ascending and her's is in decline.

One never knows what one will find at the flea market but the cycle of life was not on my list. She still had some great stuff and I bought a bracelet for $75, which she immediately knocked down to $60. Among the fire sale razor blades and sports cards her gems emitted a weak beacon of light from the old days of the great flea markets of the past. But no polished silver or ruby red outshone the twinkle in her eye as she appraised my slightly embarrassed son.

Even the greatest find has no intrinsic value compared to the bond of human kindness. I love you Kay, I'll be back.