Something very similar happened to me on eBay.

An autograph from Tony Francisosa
I was crazy about movies and movie stars when I was a little girl. In about 1964, there was a show on ABC called Valentine's Day, starring Tony Franciosa. I had a major little girl crush on that actor, and watched the show religiously every Friday night. It only lasted one season on television, and toward the end of its run, I found the address for ABC and wrote a really gushing fan letter to him, asking for a signed photo. Shortly afterwards, a large brown manila envelope arrived in the mail, addressed to me. My mom and I opened it very carefully, and inside sat an 8x10 inch, black and white photograph of Tony Franciosa. It was inscribed with my name in the top right corner, and "with my sincere best wishes, Tony Franciosa" on the bottom, near his smiling face.

Mom marks the date
My mother went to the kitchen, returning with a Bic pen. She turned the photo over, saying, "This will be very important to you one day." And she wrote the date there, in blue Bic ink. I had this silly plastic photo frame that looked like it was outlined in diamonds, and after some cutting, the photo fit perfectly in the frame. It sat on my dresser for twenty years. I realize how obsessive that may sound to some of you, but I come from a small family that values personal belongings and photographs, as well as rarities and collectibles. Our home is a sort of museum.

I went through my awkward teenage years with that photo, confiding to it all my teenage angst. I went through a boyfriend or three. And when the relationships ended, the photograph was still on my dresser, smiling comfortingly at me. 

As the years passed, I decided to try and collect more movie star and celebrity photos. I wrote letters to James Cagney, Rod Serling, Charles Bronson, Groucho Marx, Fred Silverman, Jimmy Carter, and others. They're way too many to remember now. I ended up with a large photo album full of the photos and letters they sent me in response. 

Parting with Tony
Being an antique dealer, I also kept busy looking at flea markets and antique shows in the area. One Sunday morning in the summer of 1985, I went looking at antiques. One seller had a stand full of autographs. Near him, another dealer had paintings for sale. Then I happened to look up. There, near the ceiling, was a painting. I couldn't take my eyes off it. The woman whose image was captured there could have been me at seventeen years old. My mind whirled. I made a semi-deal with the autograph seller. I would bring him a very impressive pile of celebrity autographs the following Sunday morning, and in exchange he would make a deal with the man selling the paintings and I would get the one I wanted.

That week, I collected my autographs carefully, taking them out of the album and putting them into a manila envelope. I thought it was time for Tony to leave me – it was for a noble reason. Sunday finally came, and I got my painting. I carried it off, never looking back. It turned out to have been in several art shows, and had hung in two galleries in Canada. I adore that painting, and I never really looked back to try and find any of the autographs I traded. 

Sleepless on eBay
Then one recent night, I couldn't sleep. So I turned on my computer and my Internet connection. When I can't sleep, I go on eBay, type in a random word, and sit in front of my screen, window shopping and bidding on silly things. I was half listening to the television, hoping that the toy boat commercial would run again.  

That sleepless night, I typed “Tony Franciosa” in that little white search box. I'd done it before, and sometimes there would be a still picture from some very old movie of his, or maybe some movie memorabilia associated with him. This time there was a listing titled "Tony Franciosa autographed photo signed check it out." I clicked on it. It said in the ad that the photo was damaged on one side. (I had torn it a bit when I took it out of the frame to sell). It also said it was cut around the edges. I thought perhaps it was just another little girl's treasure, being sold now on eBay. I put in a bid anyway. 

Is that my photo?
As the days passed, the more I looked at the listing, the more I was convinced that this was my photo. Eventually the listing ended – I had won! I paid, and sent a little note to the dealer, saying I believed I may have bought back my own past. (By now I might have been convincing myself more than trying to convince anybody else.) 

Again I watched for the mailman. The package duly arrived, but I had other things to do. I placed it on my bed and continued with my day, almost forgetting it was there. I finally returned to the package, and opened it carefully. I looked at it and smiled. I had bought back a tiny bit of who I was, from over forty years ago. 

I sat down to write a little note to the dealer, thanking him or her for the item. Just then, a tiny breeze flipped the photo over on the bed. 

Remembrance of things past
I just stared at the back of the photo for a very long time. I couldn't believe what I saw on the back. My mom had died about a year and a half ago. We were almost inseparable for all my life, and memories of who she was are all around me and deep within my heart and soul. But there it was, her handwriting on the back of that photograph.  And I remembered her words and the occasion when she wrote them, so very long ago. "This will be important to you someday."  

The photograph is important to me, for what it meant to me growing up, and for who I was back then. But the back of the photograph is even more important. It's a cherished part of my mother's memory. I had got back a piece of my childhood, and my love for my mother, in very faded, now light-blue Bic ink, on the back of an autographed photo of Tony Franciosa.  

If you truly believe, then nothing is ever lost. Thank you, eBay. 

We thank daughterjudy1417 for sharing her moving story with us. Do you have a story of personal connection that happened in your life because of eBay? Please send it to ChatterStaff@ebay.com, and we'll consider publishing it in The Chatter.