Vintage Makes it Better

I took a stroll down the Robert Frost Trail by my house yesterday, and the stream that flows from my pond was teeming with wild brook trout, the biggest of which were about 6" (a good size for such a small stream). This turned my thoughts naturally towards fishing, and I recalled that I had a reel that needed a clean and lube. This reel - a 40+ year old Garcia Mitchell 300 - probably hasn't had a lube job since it was manufactured in France in the early sixties, so I had my work cut out for me. I slowly and carefully disassembled the masterpiece of mechanical crafstmanship, laying each tiny part out on paper towels, and then scrubbed the old gunky grease from every piece with a toothbrush in warm soapy water - in all, about 40 components to keep meticulous track of. Here's a view of the whole kit 'n kaboodle drying on the table, with the spool still assembled.
I've now oiled and reassembled the spool housing, including the bail and bail release, and I've done a dry run of reassembling the gears and other moving parts inside the main housing. Tonight, I'll get dirty again and smear on the new grease, restoring that nasty old gummed up reel to its prime condition. Then, the pleasure of using such a piece of angling antiquity will heighten each fishing excursion for the remainder of the season.