Well, my wife worked as a bartender at a local Supper Club like 12-13 years ago. At the time I was just getting into having a gameroom. She asked if they had any old beer signs around. They did, this sweet old dirty neon tucked away in the same place I just pulled it out of tonight. She made a deal with them if I could fix their sons computer I could have the sign. So I replaced the power supply with one I got from work. And it worked. The sign came home but I felt a little weird about it. The Supper Club has been in this family for 3 generations. I'm thinking the sign was there even before that time. Heirlooms are important in my family and I wondered if some relative was going to get upset about it being in my possession. Given away for a cheap computer part. So as a compromise I took one side of it, cleaned it up and hung it in my game room. The rest of the sign, the bigger part with framework and transformer etc was returned to the spot where it was.
As time has passed my appreciation for this thing as well as local history has grown. At the time it felt good to do the right thing but surprisingly the family didn't really have the appreciation for it like I did. It just sat in that same spot in the attic and the years rolled by. We've offered to buy the sign a few times and never really got a yes or no answer. They were probably wondering why the hell I didn't just keep it in the first place. My wife started bartending there again and my daughter waits tables. The son who's computer I worked on is now the new owner. A few weeks back my wife threw out a number we'd be willing to pay if he decided to get rid of the rest of the sign. He's doing some renovations and called her tonight. He said it's now or never, come and get it. So I'm pleased as can be and he's probably relieved to not have to carry it up and down from the attic anymore. I get the impression no one will miss it, the money is being put to good use and the sign will live again. Win/win with a clear conscience.