Signs of the Times

Is it just in the Midwest where garage sales are everywhere? Definitely more so this year - I think people are trying to get cash and attracting lots of folks looking for bargains. More than a few of them are perhaps on the voluntary simplicity kick.

Driving back from the office yesterday, I was on the lookout for garage sales. (My rule: I can't go off of my route in search of a sale - it has to be advertised and visible from the usual commute. Extra points if I'm biking; you really have a whole new concept of necessary if you are trying to tote it home on the bicycle.) Scored a pair of adjustable roller blades for L, $5 brand new. Of course, the ER copay is going to be way more than that - we live on a hill. I'll worry about that one another day...

I was wishing I would have bought the 1910 solid oak round table with 2 leaves, 5 chairs for $250 that I saw at the estate sale that is now conveniently located each Saturday at my office building (as if the bakery and bar aren't enough temptation).

I was contemplating the pros and cons of asking permission vs. begging forgiveness - the age old dilemma of couples everywhere. I wanted that table not just because it was beautiful and a great fit in our 1917 bungalow - I wanted it because it was such a great deal it felt criminal to let it go at that price. I even thought about buying it and storing it until I found a good home... Madness, I know.

There was an emotional appeal present in that gorgeous wood. Something about an old piece of furniture - especially a table - that makes me wonder about the lives that were lived, the family dinners, the deep and unknowable history. I was imagining gatherings with loved ones for years to come, creating our own traditions.

Then I saw another hastily scrawled sign, pointing up the alley. And I didn't even think of stopping. This one said "Foreclosure Sale". I struggle with feeling like a vulture at estate sales, picking at the bones of the dead. But a foreclosure? That's more like vivisection. I just didn't have the stomach for it.