Taco Tuesday Topics and Taunts

 I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week selling my fine wares at the 301 Yard Sale in eastern North Carolina. I spent Sunday, which doubled as Father's Day, recovering from the heat and workload of the event.

First, yes, I sold a bunch of "stuff" at the 301 Yard Sale. What was the strangest thing that I sold at the yard sale? Two beer kegs that I had purchased on the Wednesday, the day before I headed over to Selma for the yard sale. The previous owner had already modified the two kegs and used them for some unknown purpose. In fact, one of the kegs was the first thing that I sold on Friday. It had been on the table for almost five minutes when some guy decided that he had to take it home. Yeah, that's the way to start the day.

We got off to a late start on Friday when the first rain that I had personally seen in several weeks delayed putting out my treasures and other assorted fine collectibles until almost 11:00 AM. The moment the rain stopped, the flood of buyers broke through. It was a little after noon before I had filled my tables with a veritable bonanza of bargains. Business or "bidness" (as some say in North Carolina) was good on Friday. That must have been because my older son was there to help me and to unload some of his backlog of treasures at the same time.   

Saturday, as I worked by myself, was the busiest day that I have ever experienced at the 301 Yard Sale.  The BS flowed from my space like water from a spring on Saturday. It must have worked because lots of fine collectibles left there as well in the custody of new owners.

It was hot on Saturday in Selma. The asphalt parking lot where I was setup was like a sauna, other than the distinct lack of naked women glistening in the hot sun. To be honest, I saw lots of people who I wished had been wearing more clothes than they were. That's just the way it goes.

What was the high/low point of the 301 Yard Sale for me? Thanks for asking. Sometime in the early afternoon on Saturday a young man and a guy who appeared to be his father entered my spaces. The young man was looking at a U.S. military poncho/shelter half that I had for sale. 

As the young man was looking all over the inside and outside of the poncho/shelter half, I pointed out that the item information was printed on a couple of places inside the item. He told me that he was looking for the DSA number on the item. I explained that not everything had a DSA number based on the age of the item. He told me that without the DSA number, the item was not authentic. I explained as calmly as possible that his claim was just crap. He and his father/associate walked away. 

A few seconds later, I heard him say "What is this?" He was at a clothing rack where I had several military uniforms displayed. I walked over to them and looked at the item about which he was asking. I told him, "That's a nurse's cape from a military hospital in the 1940's and 1950's." He asked, "How much is it?" "Forty dollars". He then loudly said, "That's a ridiculous price!" So, I asked "How much did you pay for the last one that you bought?" His associate laughed. He responded, "I have never bought one." Feeling that my head was about to explode from the combination of heat and human stupidity, I let the insults fall like rain. "You have never bought one of these. You have never sold one of these and until a minute ago, you didn't even know what this was. Now you are telling me that I am trying to sell it for too much. You don't know as much as you think that you do! You are just some punkass kid trying to show off to make up for his lack of actual knowledge. I have dealt with people like you all of my life. Get the hell out of my spaces!!" He and his associate departed at warp speed. It took a couple of minutes for my normal breathing pattern to resume. For public consumption of this post, I omitted several words from this account of my response. I may have even made references to his mother, his level of intelligence and the legitimacy of his birth. You are left to your own imagination.

The funniest part of this event was when I turned around and returned to my chair to sit down and breathe. There was a guy who buys from me regularly at different events and who I was speaking with before young Mr. Knowitall interrupted. He was standing there cussing his smartphone. He was laughing and told me, "I could not get my damn phone out of my pocket and get it recording before that nuclear blast of yours ended. That would have been You Tube gold!" We both laughed. 

The rest of the day was relatively calm. After dealing with an idiot like that, it's all downhill.

I am looking forward to next year at the 301 Yard Sale. You should plan now to attend. Check your camera to make sure it works.