Billie W. Taylor II, Ph.D.
Collection

This is one of those stories that defies description. George Burns sold me several pipes New-in-the-box at the May, 2007 Chicago show. He told me then that the fellow he bought them from insisted on keeping one of the pipes - this one. I said I would really enjoy getting it for my collection. At the 2007 NASPC show in Columbus, George came up to my wife and me, giving her two of his business cards; one with "Yes" on the front, the other with "No." He told her, "Don't look at the backs of the cards." Then he turned to me, pulled out this pipe and quoted me a price adding, "You can say either yes or no. After you check it out, decide and say yes or no. Then your wife will give you the matching card to turn over and see what's on the back." His price was a mite higher than I am accustomed to paying, but it was a really nice specimen. After a bit of dithering, I finally decided that I liked George (and the pipe) well enough to take it at his price. I said "Yes." My wife gave me the "Yes" card, I turned it over and was astonished to see, "Free to you." on it. I protested, but George said the expression on my face was worth the price. Well, imagining all sorts of possibilities, we couldn't resist and turned over the "No" card to see what it said. It was the one thing we hadn't thought of— a price of less than he had paid! What an amazingly generous thing to do! Thank you, George!