Entry for August 12, 2007 FLEA MARKET DAY..!!

I'm going to take you on my first effort to go to a big annual flea market and try to sell some items that have accumulated over the years. We have had yards sells over the years at out home and we have visit many flea markets over time but only as buyers.
During last week I began the task of gathering up those items that I no longer need or have two of. Most items were of hand tools, plumbing supplies, elect rial supplies and some car parts. I spent some time each day with cleaning everything and making sure all electric items worked. This was going to be all items that men would buy, a smart move on my part I thought?? Most markets we attend it's mostly items women are interested in and very few for men.
The grounds were the market was held was a park 8 miles from our house. 300 vendors usually turned out for this event ever year. New rules were in place as people would spend several days at the park picking a good location for setting up in the shade. No one was pr emitted to enter the park and set up until Friday at 4:00 pm. Several people from out of town didn't get the new rules message and started setting up and were run out of the park and made to go by the rules. Friday at 3:00pm I was in a long line to try and located a good spot. It was going to be one mad dash to secure a preferred location. It looked like frontier days when people set out on the great land rushes. Time ticked by very slow as I waited way back in line. A large embankment was off to my right and I had a plan to take a chance on go down than steep bank and secure that nice shady spot between two oak trees. We are off on our mad dash, I skating down the embankment dragging the truck's under carriage but I made it to my Spot !!. We are permit ed to set up our tables and items and cover them up for the night as we are not allowed to spend the night, a guard will be on the park grounds during the night.
Saturday morning I'm up at 4:00 am with my loaded truck to return to the park and start getting ready to sell, sell. Things go great and finally my first sell, $2.00 and I'm off and running. My son and grand daughter would come later to help, with Lindsey bringing some of her items to sell and I put her in charge of selling Pepsis and water. Later my wife came and helped after lunch. The day was a success as I sold a lot of things I no longer needed but still brought back a truck load of items. It turned out to be not as much fun as I had anticipated. Still worth the effort and the experience not to mention some new mad money.
Two events during the day stand out in my mine. One of our renters years ago left a baby buggy when they moved. I took it and my wife said why don't you leave that here, no one will buy it. I took it any way to prove a point, If I couldn't sell it I would give it to a person carrying a small baby. Indeed I tried to give to a couple with a new baby but they thanked me, they had one. Late in the day 3 women and one with a little baby asked about the buggy. One women in a wheelchair is asking if I will take any less than $10.00 for the buggy and I see there poor condition and say you can have it for $5.00. They buy and are very happy, when the women went to her purse she pulled out a stack of bills that would choke a horse!! The woman with the baby put him into the buggy and I said this is your first set of wheels youngman and he gave me a great big smile, he was about 9 months old. I saw an old man with a yellow bird on his hat. The bird was alive and just stayed attached to his hat as he walked.