I'm going to tell you a secret. Those saccharine little collectible plates you've been giving your mom every year on Mother's Day? They may not be worth much.

Last night at Hakunincho Yataimura, a food court featuring really decent Asian cuisine in Okubo, we asked for extra dishes. What did they bring? A dozen "Cherished Moments Last Forever, Mother's Day 1981" plates. Two of us turned them over to see where they came from and laughed aloud to read "Made in Japan exclusively for Avon."

After dinner, I checked on the 'Net to see what I could dig up on Avon plates. They sell for $10 to $20 on the collectibles market and apparently for next to nothing out of some "ChEAp DIshEz" box on the street in Kappabashi.