Childhood Crystal Ball

This summer, we've been reorganizing some rooms in our house. This glass ball has been on a shelf among other antiques and keepsakes in our finished basement. It's not a light, it's just a glass sphere that screws into a black base. As I brought it upstairs to place on a new set of bookshelves, Beth asked me again what it is.

I said, "You remember when I told you about a place in Brownstown [my mother's hometown in Illinois] that sold appliances and also antiques. The store was run by Floyd and Lucille Bingaman. My folks liked to shop there when I was a kid, and we bought all kinds of antiques there, and I think my parents'  washer and drier, too.

"One day, during a weekend visit to the store, I saw this and thought it would be a good 'crystal ball.' So my folks bought it, and I brought it home and used it for pretend-games of telling fortunes and foreseeing the future. After I left home, Mom and Dad kept it on their own bookshelves. Although I have no idea what original purpose it had, it's a childhood keepsake that I hate to part with."

Beth said, "You should write this up as a blog post."

"Good idea," I said....