Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Entertainment

I get my fun wherever I can find it.

My SIL Barb said, "You read Craigslist ads for entertainment???" Yes I do. Try it sometime--the horrible spellings and/or rants about the ex in the household ads, the tearjerking "wanted" ads, the bizarre things people are giving away for free.

Or the one Ben and I still chuckle over--a conscience-smitten college student in Eugene said he got drunk at a party and the next morning there was a lawn chair on his porch that hadn't been there before, and he apparently picked it up while walking home, and he has no idea where it belongs, and he feels very bad about this and wants to return it to its rightful owner.

And of course we thought, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

I get lots of entertainment out of going to garage sales too, from the great bargains to the hideous ceramic figurines to the talkative hostesses.

And then there was a complete little drama that played before my eyes the other week.

About three sales were clustered on this one street, which meant lots of cars pulling in and out, and people walking. I was happily looking at stuff when I heard a woman's frantic voice--"COLBY!" I looked up. Across the street was a lady about my age standing by a white car. She looked one way, then the other and shouted again, desperately, "COLBY!"

Up and down the street, heads turned as we all felt a chill of fear. Mrs. Garage Sale left the garage and started down the driveway for a better view. I stopped shopping and wondered what I should do. I think we were all thinking of that poor little boy, Kyron Harmon, who had just recently disappeared in Portland.

The woman walked around her car, still shouting frantically. Someone called to her, "Did you lose someone?"

She shouted back, "My dog! He was right here in the back seat! And he's gone!"

At least it wasn't a child.

Heads pivoted up and down the street as we all looked for a streak of fur behind a rhodie bush. Nothing. The lady kept calling.

I think we were all about to spread over the neighborhood when suddenly she stopped. And then she looked really embarrassed, and slapped her forehead, and yelled to everyone, "OH! I forgot! I dropped him off at home!"

We all laughed and we ladies of a certain age looked very sympathetic. Mrs. Garage Sale returned to her folding chair. I returned to the Tupperware and towels. The street resumed its normal traffic.

We were all smiling.

I never know when or where a story will happen right before my eyes.

Quote of the Day:
"Westside Morning Glory Reasonably Conservative Mennonite Church"
--what Ben thinks people in other states name their churches, rather than the practical Oregonian way of "Harrisburg Mennonite," or "Brownsville Mennonite." I don't think he realizes just how many Mennonite churches are in a town like Goshen, Indiana.

4 comments:

  1. That's about right. Frame, Brick, Maple Grove, Maple Lawn, Roselawn, Maple Leaf (ok, not the last one but they might as well use it). And they have the audacity to make fun of names like "Brownsville Mennonite."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Speaking of garage sale stories, I am reminded of the time that I bought Bible Story videos at a garage sale, only to get home and examine them more carefully and find my own price tag on them from when I had sold them at my sale sometime previously. My friends and family got a good chuckle out of that one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like something I might do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yesterday at a garage sale, I heard Mr. Garage Sale man say, "Thank you for shopping at K-Mart!"

    That was only one of the things he said to keep livening the atmosphere for his customers.

    And then when I paid, he absentmindedly (amidst his constant stream of chatter) gave a $5 bill back. When I said I was expecting a $10, he jovially replied, "Oh, I was going to keep the rest," while at the same time fishing out the proper change.

    Catharine in OH

    ReplyDelete