Season is over and no strikeouts

The garage sale season concurs with the baseball season. The last hurrah for the baseball season is the World Series. The last hurrah for the garage sale season is the Methodist Manor Guild holding their second sale of the season. It is held indoors so the weather is not a factor. It is always a sellout.

Selfish owners and greedy players cut the baseball season short and there will not be a baseball World Series this year. All that money you might have spent going to the series you can now spend at the garage sale. All the money that would have been lost if office pools and betting can be given to charity. One easy way is to spend it at the Methodist Manor Guild’s garage sale held in the basement of Methodist Church.

This has been a great year for garage sales and Jean and I probably got to about 90% of the garage sales in our area. We sometimes rode our bikes. At one garage sale we parked our bikes and started shopping. I noticed a middle-aged couple looking at our bikes. The bikes are both one speed with coaster brakes. I walked over there and before I could say anything was asked, “How much for the bikes?” He said, “There was no price on them.” I replied, “The bikes our ours and are not part of the sale.” He said, “I’ll buy them anyway if you will give me a fair price.” “They are not for sale,” was my answer. He did not give up easily and said he would pay us what we paid new and an extra $25 price for our trouble. We are still riding the bikes.

Having a successful garage sale is no different than running a profitable business. If you start with a neat, clean, and tidy display you are on your way. Speak to all the people who show up, not just the ones you happen to know. Thank the people before they leave. They will remember and if you have another sale next year they will remember how you treated them.

Some of the ideas for the “Cracker” Barrel” stories have originated at garage sales. This is where I have found a lot of moral support. We have so many people comment favorably at garage sales and just walking or riding our bikes. It certainly is satisfying.

As we near the times of the year when the weather will be changing and some of our neighbors are leaving for warmer climates we can all reflect back on the year. There has been some strife and grief but when you watch TV news, listen to the radio or read the paper you can find the many good items that get pushed off the headlines and sometimes to the back page.

The next time you get The Times skip the front page and start with page two or three. Read the paper; then, if you like, go back to the front page. I’ll be you are amazed at teh good news that you have read.

Hope to see our many garage sale acquaintances at the big garage sale held in the basement of the Methodist Church on Oct. 21. Lots of gems and maybe even a pearl.

For nearly 25 years, until his death in 2015, retired grocer Don Behm wrote a column for The Storm Lake Times, “Cracker Barrel.” Don’s everyman view of everyday life was a favorite of Times readers.  This was first published on Oct. 17, 1994.