I met Jackson a couple of times. I liked him and found him, unlike more than a few of his congressional colleagues, actually interested in events and issues that did not directly involve him. However, I knew Jackson had a real problem when I learned that he had the Rolex gene. 

The Rolex gene is basically, but not exclusively, a male disorder that clouds mens minds into believing that if they pay several thousand dollars for a wrist watch, other people will recognize them as successful and important. Jackson raided his campaign fund of $43,000 to buy a Rolex. 

This gene is bipartisan. Virginias Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, after admitting that he had embarrassed his state, has returned all the tangible gifts an influence-seeking businessman had bestowed on him and his family including $25,000 in wedding expenses to two of the governors daughters, a $15,000 shopping trip for Mrs. McDonnell at New Yorks Bergdorf Goodman and, for the Gov himself, a $6,500 Rolex wristwatch. 

It could be just a crazy coincidence that Bernie Madoff, the architect and engineer of his own $65 million Ponzi scheme, had in his townhouse count em 17 Rolexes, including the Oyster chronograph, which sold for $63,500. 

This is obviously not about knowing the correct time, which is available everywhere from your cellphone to your laptop to the nearest dashboard. Like a six-figure sports car or a trophy wife or a winter tan, the purpose of the wrist jewelry is to make some statement about status, success or self-esteem. 

Just how shallow and superficial does somebody have to be in order to be impressed not by another persons integrity, decency or thoughtfulness, but instead by his timepiece? I always enjoyed Woody Allens line: Im very proud of my gold pocket watch. My grandfather, on his death bed, sold me this watch.My own wrist is a dead giveaway: a stainless steel L.L. Bean field watch, the old-fashioned one with semi-luminous numbers and a second hand, and which is now, frankly, overpriced at $129. 

In fairness, two men whom I genuinely admire for their generosity of spirit and their compassion, both of whom I was fortunate enough to meet, the late actor-philanthropist Paul Newman and the Dalai Lama, both wore Rolexes. But neither man, unlike your neighborhood private equity buccaneer or least favorite in-law, ever looked to his jewelry box for his identity. 

Ill proudly put the bumper sticker on my car of the officeholder who will successfully champion a study by the National Institutes of Health to isolate and to eliminate the Rolex gene in the American male. While it might temporarily inconvenience the Swiss economy, it would be an absolute boon to the American way of life. 

The inviting sign had something about a five-generation estate sale. It was midtown Winona but the sale could have been anywhere in the Midwest. The 100-year-old home was filled with treasure that goes way back. 

Upon entering I came to a small open stairway that looked Victorian. From the beginning I knew my visit was going to be as much about history and antiques as about sales. A guy, who could have been a nephew, or a son, or a grandson, or all three, gave me a friendly introduction. I think he might be the family historian. 

If there were expensive keepsakes, they either had been divided among the surviving relatives or had been sold earlier. What remained was history being revealed. Because the house was in the heart of town, the owners could have been of either German or Polish ancestry, likely a blend, maybe neither. 

The kitchen had been updated very little these last hundred years.Costume and fashion online wholesale jewelry Jewelry designs, The pristine gas stove was on tall legs, and had handles instead of knobs. I cant remember much about the small oven along side. Finding an enamel stove in such good shape is rare, but it likely didnt sell. People display shabby chic in other rooms, but they want ultra modern kitchens. 

There were a few coffee cups made from pressed material and likely had come from Fiberite, probably during the 1950s. I liked the tiny pressed juice glass. Maybe it was used as a large fiber shot glass. For you newbies: Fiberite is now RTP. Over the years it had other names too. 

The next room had been a small dining room. The sellers kept their cash drawer and jewelry here. I didnt spend much time looking at the gems, but they looked like they were from all five generations. The jewelry was what women would have purchased for themselves to accessorize an outfit. If present, I didnt see any valuable jewelry. 

Handsome large trunks that had come from the old country were to be sold too. These trunks tucked away since arriving in America held treasured memories now offered to strangers. This old memorabilia was expendable because we only keep treasures we can relate to. 

Wandering from room to room I also got an indication of how the home had been built and remodeled. The plumbing caught my attention. Modern plumbers, even homeowners, can easily cut, remove, and replace plastic plumbing when upgrading. This plumbing was old and not upgraded. Pipes and fittings from when Winona was lighted by the gas works were still attached to walls. 

Years ago the owners decided they didnt need two stairways, so the back stairs had been converted to a throughway for large pipes, hangers, and traps when they added an extra bathroom. The pipes bring water in had elbows, nipples, and plugs that looked like an ill-made musical instrument and the sewer pipes looked like an oversized octopus statuary partially hidden in the former stairway. 

I first learned about steampunk when I read a young adult book in this genre titled "The Hunchback Assignments" by Arthur Slade. Anyone who has seen the movies "Wild, Wild West" or "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" has encountered steampunk, too. 

It turns out this is a wildly popular form of art, on the Internet especially, and it is inspiring artists from sculptors to jewelry makers, from fashion designers to painters. 

Steampunk artist Art Donovan, who co-owns Donovan Design with his wife, Leslie,tungsten jewelry is making a revolution in the jewelry industry by introducing unique types of designs, wrote "The Art of Steampunk" after curating the world's first museum steampunk exhibit at Oxford University's Museum of History of Science. In the publisher's foreward, Alan Giagnocavo of Fox Chapel Publishing states that Donovan finds "sheer joy and delight" in steampunk and enjoys finding and promoting other artists. 

This is exactly what "The Art of Steampunk" does in beautiful, interesting photographs with descriptions. Most of the book is full of what people want to see: the art. A few informational written pieces also are included in the book. 

In the introduction, Donovan explains the genre to anyone who isn't familiar with it.He writes,This handsome link tungsten bracelet for men is constructed in maintenance-free tungsten. "Steampunk is a unique fantasy version of 19th-century Victorian England, now imbued with high-tech digital devices, fantastic steam-powered machines and all manner of surreal electro-mechanical contraptions that could only have been conjured by a mad 21st-century scientist."