THE STOOP SCOOP ON THE GARAGE SALE
Garage sales, where I come from, are as essential to summer as Dairy Queen and step ladders for above ground pools. My family's annual June Garage Sale contributed to the Fayette frenzy and gave me years of experience organizing, analyzing business tactics, and bartering with the senile.
Summer began with The Garage Sale. An exciting kickoff. In fact, it would be the first thing noted on my 'What Am I Doing This Summer' writing assignment for school (an assignment I now know can also be called 'Summer: Write It So I Don't Have To Talk To You Anymore'). And it was only fitting that my first weekend in Brooklyn, where I now kick it, was spent having a rummage sale of sorts.
The people in these parts refer to the selling-of-grandma's-goods as Stoop Sales, since of course brownstones lack garages. This particular Saturday was more of a Stoop Sale Block Party. Neighbors meeting neighbors, kids scootering and having balloon fights, music, and food consumed Garfield Place from noon to six. Our stoop was solely devoted to a lemonade stand that benefitted Gilda's Club, an organization that started in New York, but now offers completely free support to anyone affected by cancer all over the world. Our donation went directly to Noogieland, Gilda's Club's play space where children can have fun, make art, and meet others going through similar experiences.
The day was sweet and delicious while memories of The Garage Sale came flooding back. Being confined to the stand, I did a lot of people watching and remembered all of the regulars we had at The Garage Sale. Our loyal customers that would come year after year....after year after year after year after year. I remembered them...and I thought about them. And then I really thought about them.
Below are some Garage Sale Regulars (and the way I would describe them today)
Early Bird - Lady in a van who would be parked and waiting two hours before The Garage Sale start time. We had to limit our morning movement inside the house because she would notice we were awake and then knock on our door. After a few years of including 'No Early Birds' in our newspaper ad (our way of filing a restraining order) she stopped coming.
Happy Meal Man - Older fella who would whip out a magnifying glass and examine our Happy Meal toys. He'd appraise each one, then buy the whole box since it was only $1.
Ken - Man who always bought all of our Barbie dolls. He had a mustache. And bought all of our Barbie dolls...
The Nickel and Dimer/Buick Betch- Old woman. Drove a blue Buick. Would offer 5 cents for all of our 10 cent toys. Said they were for her grandchildren. Eventually found out she was reselling them at flea markets at a higher rate.
Betty <3 - Our sweetest customer. She would buy the most hideous things and call them beautiful. Betty was always in a hurry because she said she needed to get to a lot of "sales" that day. She'd tip me $1 for helping her take her purchases to her car...her car that smelled like asparagus pee and that was already completely full of other hideous things. I once saw a cat in there.
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