Thursday, June 10, 2004 AD Yard Tales One of the cool things we found while sorting for a recent yard sale was the bulletin from the Sunday I was baptized -- December 11, 1977. Ten years after it ought to have happened, to be sure, but at least it got done. And I'm glad it didn't get done any later. I was in the last group of people baptized before that particular pastor left. I don't remember him much. If I'd waited for the next guy to do the job, it would have been less pleasant to remember the event, considering how I was hurt by his later failures as a pastor.
Another cool thing was my high school yearbook. I didn't order the pictures that were taken for the yearbook, and I really regret it. I'm so glad I didn't have a dated 'do. 1983 was not a good year for coiffure styles. I asked my mom, "Wow! Why didn't you tell me how pretty I was?" She said she figured I could look in a mirror. Margaret B. didn't raise her kids to be vain, that's fer shure. Alas...if only I were still that thin and beautiful!
Then there was the box of notebooks, flash cards, test papers and sketch books from one semester in college: mammology, mineralogy, advanced studio in drawing and structure of the English language -- 300 and 400 level courses in four different departments, two of them lab classes. That was a tough semester! I might post the English exam sometime. I got a B -- probably because I hadn't studied as well as I ought. I'd flunk it if I had to take it today -- I just don't remember the material -- but I kept those notes because, unlike of some of the other subjects, language actually still matters to me. The mammology stuff was kind of embarrassing. I parrotted the evolutionary line just as I was taught it. Mineralogy was an interesting class. The teacher was a friend, so I was more than usually motivated to do well (and did -- got an A). There was one exam for which we had to figure out a crystal angle or something using a method that had been taught on a day I missed class. But I figured out the answer using simple geometry. "Good science," he said, and that was was the first and last time I've ever received that particular compliment from anyone. Drawings, drawings, drawings...what to do with all of them? Or, more particularly, what to do with some of them? The review comment from my instructor said my work was "intelligent." I liked that a lot.
As for the yard sale itself, it was a lot of work for two hundred thirty-five bucks and a bad sunburn, but I don't regret doing it. Mom was the motivating force -- I'm so grateful for all her help in both sorting and saling!
Favorite sale: Brian and Stacey bought my Chronicles of Narnia videos for Harrison the Cicada Muncher (May 28) and Young Theologian (June 10 -- get permalinks, man!).
Sweetest sale: The most adorable little curly headed girl with her grandfather. She was not in the least demanding, but asked for a couple things...and got them -- a stuffed animal and a music box. Gramps joked about her not knowing the word no. I laughed and said he was the one who didn't know it, but that I probably couldn't have refused her, either.
Unpleasantest sale: I really don't like pushy bargainers. Really. And this one lady was so pushy that she confused me and ended up gypping me out of fifty cents. I know...only fifty cents...but it's the principle of the thing.
Chattiest sale: The high school math teacher who bought a couple spiral notebooks with graph paper. I figured him for some kind of science guy as soon as I saw him pick them up. Since my mom was once a math teacher, they chatted a bit; since he teaches at my SIL's alma mater, there was a connection there; since he used to teach where my neighbor's son used to teach we knew some of the same horror stories; and since his kids go to the same school a young friend of mine attends, we had yet another connection.
Guiltiest sale: There are some books I just need to throw out, rather than live with the knowledge that I was responsible for putting them into someone else's hands. I haven't always been Reformed, and had some stuff that was pretty doctrinally flaky -- one guy bought several books of that genre.
Pendingest sale: Friends from church might buy my freezer. It would be so encouraging to get rid of at least one large item!
Hardest sale: Convincing my brother to take my VCR. For free. He is the most exasperating creature on the planet!
Duh-est non-sale: Man holding a copy of Henry V: "This isn't in Shakespearean English is it?"
Hardest non-sale: Hardest on me, that is. Mom convinced the same brother to take the 100-year-old hand-colored photo of Nana. I was hoping no one would notice that I still had it! But it's the one thing he's actually ever said he wanted, so I'm glad he took it.
I have no idea if any of this was really blogworthy, but I wanted to write about it, so there you are. Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 6/10/2004 08:32:00 PM
• • Permalink
