A few months ago we took a Nikon F-601 film camera in on trade at my work. The strap was in good shape and I asked to have it as it reminded me of the time I customized one for a long time customer.
I had dealt with James Lakaparampil for many, many years and seeing the strap took me back to when he bought his first Nikon F-6 film camera from me. He was living in Lethbridge and called me up one day to order a camera. Unknow to James, Nikon in it’s infinite wisdom, put no accessories in it’s high end camera boxes. If you bought an entry level camera it came with batteries and a strap, but the top model came with just a body cap.
In those days it wasn’t unusual to find a Nikon F-601 strap laying around and when I found one, I took a black marker and filled in the 01 parts of the strap and put it in the box to send James.
He used that camera for a few years and after spending a long vacation back in India and area had come back to Lethbridge.
He was home a week when someone kicked in his apartment door and stole all his camera gear and laptop.
So he called me up to order a new camera while they were still available.
I told him I could get him the camera but I wouldn’t be able to provide him with another strap like that.
I told him what I had done to the strap I had sent him.
He told me he had never noticed and assumed it was an actual F-6 strap.
We laughed pretty hard over that.
Three years ago I was somewhere between Thunder Bay, Ontario and Regina, Saksatchewan when James passed away. I had known he was sick and had planned to call him once I was back from my holiday. I should of called him earlier but I just didn’t know what I was going to say to him so I kept putting it off.
Hindsight.
I customized the new strap in James’s honour. I know he won’t see it, but it will make me smile a bit when I do.
Hank's Blog - Musings of a Wandering Mind 