Yesterday, I was presented with a mystery that I haven't yet solved. Someone left a box containing this plate in front of my door. But I have absolutely no clue as to who dropped this plate at my door.
Could this plate have been given to me by my secret pen pal from my "Ambles" group? If so, why didn't she/he have identified herself/himself as "Your Secret Pen Pal" and left me a card telling me that this is a gift to me? (I've mentioned my love for trains in the past, and this gift could have come from a member of our "Secret Pen Pal" group.) As much as this is a possibility, it breaks the rules of our group. We are not supposed to be giving each other a gift of value - even though these collectors plates have little resale value. So, I've ruled out my secret pen pal for now.
Could this plate have been given to me by my secret pen pal from my "Ambles" group? If so, why didn't she/he have identified herself/himself as "Your Secret Pen Pal" and left me a card telling me that this is a gift to me? (I've mentioned my love for trains in the past, and this gift could have come from a member of our "Secret Pen Pal" group.) As much as this is a possibility, it breaks the rules of our group. We are not supposed to be giving each other a gift of value - even though these collectors plates have little resale value. So, I've ruled out my secret pen pal for now.
The next person I thought of is someone who I doubt would give me the time of day, much less a "collector's place." My most recent ex-girlfriend is emptying out a house in preparation to move into smaller living quarters. We have not been in contact since summer, and I see no reason why she'd bother to risk seeing me to drop this off. In addition, without a note to say who gifted me this plate, this couldn't be a peace offering which would tell me that she'd like to bury the hatchet. (Last we were in contact, I'm sure that she'd prefer to bury the hatchet in my back. So assuming that this gift was from her doesn't make sense.)
The last person that I thought might have dropped this plate off is my former cruise partner. She has even less interest in renewing a friendship, nor would she have collected plates with a railroading theme. Given that we likely would have strangled each other if we were in the same place again, I think that she is also someone who should be ruled out for having put this plate in front of my door.
If the person who gave me this gift reads this blog, I want to say thank you. But I wish you would let me know who you are, just to know whether you want to attempt to be friends again.
