Attention Shoppers

I would never have thought it, especially since I've heard it described as a "prime opportunity to have your neighbors eye your belongings with undisguised contempt," but our garage sale on Saturday was actually the most fun part of moving so far.

After hauling our couches out into the driveway, poking a couple signs into the ground in strategic neighborhood corner locations and making sure we had change for a twenty, we were all set.

And they came almost immediately: the first vehicle pulled up at a little after 8:30 am and disgorged its passengers onto our lawn, where they ambled over to our assortment of folding tables and wall displays and started sizing everything up. From then on it was kind of a blur until the first lull at about 11 or so.

We sold:

Two bookcases and an end table to our friend Val, whose Trailblazer wouldn't *quite* fit the bigger bookcase, necessitating the hailing of Val's parents and their truck. While they were there, her mom petted Vince (Official Garage Sale Welcoming Committee), and her stepdad bought some Craftsman wrenches from me for a dollar each. Smitty was reportedly pleased as heck.

One pair of cowboy boots, a dry-erase board and some tulip bulbs to my neighbor Bill, whose $7.50 subtotal just so happened to equal our Awesome-Neighbor discount.

An altpick book, some candlestick holders, a toy semi and a couple dozen bottle rockets to a nice artist lady, who said the rockets were for her son-in-law. Yeah right.

An air compressor, some horseshoes, three folding lawn chairs in need of re-webbing and an old Makita drill to a well-tanned older gentleman. He joked with me for ten minutes or so, and informed me that it's common practice to buy Craftsman tools used and then return them for brand new ones at Sears. Oh, well.

One book about Wildebeests to a little girl with a flowered sundress Penny was crazy about. I believe that book was on the house.

A Rolling Stones album to a mild-mannered fellow who sat in my basement and went through my records while his wife waited outside.

A light blue velour chair, which Vince used to watch movies from and now will go to some needy family courtesy of a kind man with a red pickup. He bought it for ten dollars just to give it away.

Numerous other random items, memorable mainly for their randomness, priced to move and discussed candidly. I enjoyed it thoroughly, even though we were exhausted by the end.

When you're in our position, and have completely forsaken your stockpiling ways and want nothing more than to be freed of excess weight -- the moving company charges by the pound, you see -- it's fairly exhilarating to take something out, set it on a table, put a price sticker on there and watch it get carried away.

Everything we didn't sell will now go to Goodwill, Salvation Army or Amvets, and that will feel pretty good too.

I only wish somebody had bought the treadmill.