My only find of real significance (other than birds) came in 1982 when I was tooling about Winston-Salem on my 1972/73 Nishiki Competition. I noticed something black along the gutter that looked like a pen, but not one I recognized. I rode back to it, stopped, and picked it up: a Lamy 2000, a pen first produced in 1967 and still in production today, I think.
I still have it, too--it's right here on the desk beside the monitor. The cap (where the clip is secured) was cracked, and I tried unsuccessfully to repair it with different cements. Then I had a hard time finding cartridges for it, but last year I found them via the internet. And after I wrote Lamy's US distributor, they sent me a replacement cap--free!
The coolest thing about the pen (other than the story) is that it's vintage. Impressed along the barrel are the words "West Germany."
Too bad folks around these parts don't seem to lose (or use, perhaps) cool pens. I'm hoping for a Pelikan 730 fountain pen, but I ain't holding my breath. I guess they're not the kind of things you find on rural roads. . . .
nath dresser
spring green, wi