posted on May 18, 2001 09:47:01 AM new
Howdy,
I would like to collect your favorite yard sale stories! For example, my wife and I run across some of the same people at yard sales each weekend. We don't know them personally, but we nod at each other or exchange pleasantries. We have names that we have made up for the people we have met. Like: Train Guy: he loves old train sets and gets very animated when you talk to him about them and other vintgae stories. There is: Big Hair Lady: an older woman with this really large doo of bleach blonde hair. Will not speak to anyone. She is polite but if you say hello to her, she will not reply. Also: The Smoking Mother: A mom and her teenage son cruisin' the sales picking up what ever they need (like us all!) and never with out a smoke going...I could go on and on but those are a few.
The touching side of the experience is the sale we went to acouple of years ago. It was held by and older couple. They were great, animated and full of good cheer. There was a little boy wearing a baseball cap selling pokemon cards and cookies. We always buy cookies from the kids (soft touch I guess). This sale had lots of great collectibles, but they were fairly pricey. As we left my wife commented on the boy and how she felt that he looked like he was ill. As we pulled away, he lifted his cap to run his hand across the top of his head. He was completely bald. I then noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Obviously this boy was receiving chemotherapy. About 6 months later while cruising the neighborhood looking for another yard sale we saw that this house was having another yard sale. We pulled in and the first thing we noticed right away was that the prices had dropped a lot. The atmosphere was not as jovial, it was like there was a dark cloud hanging over the house. The old couple looked very old. The only sign of the little boy was a pile of pokeman cards on the table being given away to any children that came to the sale. It was very sad, but a reminder of how lucky we are in this life with our healthy children.
Anyway, if you have any stories you would like to share, good - bad, funny - sad either post them here or send them to me at:
[email protected]
(no spamming please)
Look forward to hearing from you!
posted on May 18, 2001 10:09:02 AM new
Your story made me cry. I thank God my children are healthy. I deal in my brick and mortar world every day with members of the American Cancer Society. They are a wonderful group of people. They have taught me one important thing:
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
In the big scheme of things, it is almost all small stuff.
posted on May 18, 2001 12:55:26 PM new
When you mentioned "small stuff" I rememebered that a friend had sent me this.....share it freely with others
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. Then class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."
"Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
[ edited by mark090 on May 18, 2001 12:56 PM ]
posted on May 18, 2001 04:49:05 PM new
What a sad story about that little boy. Whenever I see kids selling their things at a yard sale I make sure to overpay for what I buy! I know they are probably selling their things to save up for something special. I have a friend who tries to bargain with kids over $1.00 and it drives me nuts!!!
I have a friend who I go to yard sales with every weekend and we have nicknames for some of the regulars too. The two that stand out the most are the "Got any musical instruments?" guy and the crazy consignment store lady- she is always yelling at her son or dog that she brings with her. I often wonder what name people have for my friend and me!!
posted on May 18, 2001 08:58:54 PM new
I have met some crazy people at yard sales and have also made some great friends. The crazy people I call characters. There is one older lady in paticular that is nuts! She lives in this little tiny two bedroom house and buys more stuff than anyone else at yard sales in this town. I can't figure out what she does with it. She buys every picture or cheap home decorating thing there is. She buys every piece of brass, any pot or pan, lots of dishes(usually not collectible), toys, and you name it she's got to buy it. She will offer 10 cents for a quarter item. Then she never has money on her. Her money is always in her pickup truck and she will ask the sellers to hold her stuff until she comes back with money. Sometimes the total amount of the items bought will only be $1.00 or less but she still has to go get the cash. She's scared someone will steal it!
My favorite story about her is the time we both walked up to a sale together. This sale had tons of stuff and she kept by me the whole time. I saw a box that needed unpacking(one of many) and decided to look in it and started taking things out of it and putting them on the table. I looked away for a second and the next thing I knew the box was gone! She had the box in her hands and was going through it. She pulled out one nice shaker. I noticed her hands were full. So I looked in the box and grabbed the other shaker. That shaker is now proudly displayed in my shaker collection. It always gives me a good laugh!
[ edited by mark090 on May 18, 2001 12:56 PM ]