Trade 2: The First Responder Wins Round Two

Gave

Ghost kitty statue

Got

Vintage GAF SC/100 Super 8 movie camera

Trading partner

Tobert

Location

Converse, Texas

Tobert was the first person to ever answer my paperclip ad. That was back on October 15. He offered me 11 VHS tapes, and I told him the truth. The ad was staying up a little longer in case something wild came in. If nothing did, the tapes were mine on Monday.

Something wild did come in. Marisa's ghost kitty statue took Trade 1 on Sunday. I messaged Tobert that night to tell him straight, and I offered him round two on the statue.

A little after midnight on Monday, he wrote back. "You want weird correct?" Then, "Weird but fair?" Then he sent photos of a Super 8 movie camera from the 1970s.

I had a camera like that back in 93. I used to take it clubbing. Filmed everything. I think I've still got 8mm reels of me as a toddler in 75. Holding it felt like shaking hands with my own past. I think my mom had those toddler movies converted to digital years ago. No idea where that file is now. Finding it is on my list.

Tobert is a cool guy. He collects antique media machines. VHS players. A Betamax. Even an old CRT TV. He told me straight up that he had never tested the camera because the film is practically extinct. He just got a Super 8 projector, so the projector gets used, and the camera does not. His collection needed room, so the camera was on the chopping block.

We met at 5:30 Monday evening at a gas station in Converse, Texas. He was out front holding the camera, exactly like he said he would be. Ghost kitty went one way. The camera came home with me. We took a selfie before I left. Tobert had paint on his hands. He had been doing set design for a school play.

One honest note: I put fresh AA batteries in it, and the motor did not run. Tobert never claimed it would. He said "it should work from what I've been told," and that's not a promise. The film chamber is clean. The battery compartment has no corrosion. Somebody who tinkers with this kind of thing might bring it back to life. Even if nobody does, it's a beautiful piece of film history.

The first person to answer the ad made Trade 2 happen. There's something right about that.

Next up: the camera is Trade 3. Offer me something weird. Or fair. Or both.