About 25 years ago, I met a polite English gentleman (Pat O’Riordan) at the Southern Michigan Dulcimer Festival. He sold handmade penny whistles. They were lovely. I was so impressed that I bought a set of two – a C and a D (which worked with one mouthpiece and two bodies) and later a low G. Even back then, they were considered very expensive (a couple hundred dollars for the G and more for the two whistle set.)

Today I looked on the internet and found that Pat had died. His instruments are even more valuable. The set of two was worth about $1,500 a dozen years ago. The G was probably equal to that. His whistles are considered the best but none are now available. They are in demand. I could sell them for whatever I wanted. So I went looking for mine.

I know they are here someplace but I can’t find them. They were in the top drawer of the dresser in the guest room which I gave away a couple years ago. Before I donated it, I cleaned it out completely. I know it was empty, but I can’t remember where the stuff went that I took from the dresser. I have a storage room with lots of bins and I’ve stored stuff under my bed. I’ve also added all new bedroom furniture in my room so there are several drawers where I could have put the whistles. There is a nine drawer dresser in the guest room, a craft basket, a couple end tables. There’s also a large TV console with four drawers. The whistles could be in any of those places, or in my dining room, or… well, there are lots of places.

I’m thinking of hiring a helper/organizer to assist me as I go through my stuff. I won’t stick to it if it’s just me but if I hire help, I will work through everything and get rid of a lot of the junk I don’t need. Purging needs to be tackled.

With a $3,000 (or more) prize someplace, it would be worth the hunt.