My wailing wall.

One often has the thought they would like to help someone just starting out in business. Even if you don't actually know them. I felt that way a few years back for a young man who had just bought a framing shop on the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. It was obvious that he was nervous about his venture, and probably couldn't afford much help since it seemed that his girlfriend was working there. The previous shop had been there for ages, so I knew he had some big shoes to fill, especially since there were other framing shops nearby. To help out, I bought in two posters to be framed. One was the largest poster for the Broadway show "Follies", not a very valuable item. The other was a small, original 1951 lobby card for one of my favorite movies, "Cry Danger". I had ordered it from E-Bay and cost about $75.00. Needless to say I felt very good about myself, helping out this young man and his girlfriend. (So what if was going to frame then anyway?) No less smug, in fact, than Jerry Seinfeld felt when he encouraged Babu to change the style of his restaurant. Of course Babu's venture turned into a disaster. But then so did mine from the consumer end. For both framed posters were very badly done. The "Folllies" poster had a huge wrinkle running down the center, while the "Cry Danger" poster had fewer wrinkles and looked like a badly ironed shirt. I decided to wait until I was less angry before I approached him about these two disasters. That proved to be another mistake. Because when I went back the store was empty and locked, and nobody seemed to know where this hopeless entrepreneur had flown. Oddly enough I never had the frames redone. I guess because I just hate paying for the same thing twice. What's the morale of this story? There isn't one.