An old Parker friend

[Tom Flanigan]

I forgot to mention that I have been buying Damascus for years. Back when I started the going price for a nice GH was $75. I remember a nice GH 20 bore Damascus with a Red Head case that the owner of the Pawling gun shop got in. It was $150 but I didn't have the money for it at the time since I was only 15 years old. Larry Paugh, the owner of the shop, didn't put it on the rack but kept it in the back waiting for me to come in. When I walked in, he said I have something in the back for you that you are going to love. I really wanted the gun but told Larry that I couldn't afford it. He said "take it and you can pay me a bit at a time when you have money". I got a job putting Sunday papers together at a local store and paid for the gun. Larry Paugh was one of the great old people in Pawling. He really wanted me to have that gun because he knew how much I would appreciate it. I still have it and will never sell it. It gets passed down in the family some day.