Yard Sale Addict: 7/18/09 Yard Sales and Re-enactors in the 'hood.

Glendale Ave. – Candler Park “Sale of the Century”

In truth only a few of the signs for this sale noted it to be “the sale of the Century”. We are still only nine years into the century so I did not expect anything big and were not highly disappointed when I visited at this small sale set up on the sidewalk of this narrow street. When I arrived a man driving a car with Gwinnett County plates was arguing with the seller that his books should only be fifty cents and not a dollar. The reseller appeared desperate and drove off in anger when the seller did not drop his price. Overall this sale was not very notable. The seller asked me if I knew the value of his Polaroid J 33. I had no idea but told him they no longer make film and it was probably worth 10 to 20 bucks. I later looked it up on eBay and found my appraisal to be correct. Among the stuff being sold here were packages of Avery mailing labels, some AAA maps of recent vintage, containers of sewing supplies, a tripod that folded sown to fit in a backpack (I later regretted not buying this), a microwave oven, a crock pot, a drink mixer and a tray with a tole painting of flowers.
I bought nothing.

Seller posing with Polaroid.

Mortimer Ave. – Edgewood “Yard Sale”

After driving into Cabbagetown to visit a highly unmemorable yard sale I saw some signs for this sale in the yard of a small home in the Edgewood community. Here two women had covered their front yard with a wide range of clutter. While sipping wine spritzers they showed me the Hulk hand from the newer film version not the Ang Lee film, a pair of mismatch stage monitors left over from a band one of them was once in and a black velvet painting of a very unhappy looking Willie Nelson. In addition to the sad looking Willie they had another painting in the same media of a happier looking unicorn. Other stuff scattered around included a small purse that said LUST, a semi demolished ink jet printer, two Reservoir Dogs action figures (Mr. Black and Mr., Orange), some oversized play money, a set of flaming hurricane glasses from Pat O’Brian’s, a box of framed Gaham Wilson cartoons and a bag of small dowels. They asked me if I knew anything about the camera they were selling (this seems to be a theme this morning) and I examined a Minolta SLR that was in several pieces in a camera bag. I told them that it was not worth much but showed them how some of the pieces fit together.
I bought nothing.

Hulk Hands but not the inferior Ang Lee Hulk Hands,

Vidal Dr. – Decatur “Yard Sale”

In Decatur I found four sales very close to one another. This one looked promising from the large sign in the driveway but once I headed past the row of mattresses lining the driveway I was disappointed not by the quantity of goods for sale but more so by the ordinary nature of what was there. In back of the house I found a fireplace set, a large table stacked with hardbound copies of popular fiction, a set of candle holders that looked like oversize stemware, a set of golf clubs some clothing, a framed print of Auburn University and a box of plush toys. In the plush toys was plush I pod. The seller told me it you could connect it to an I pod and it functioned as a speaker pillow.
I bought nothing.

An I Pod to sleep on.

Lamont Dr. Decatur “Estate Sale” “Yard Sale”

There were two sales on this street. The first was a moving sale that featured a large selection of clutter spread across the yard and driveway of a brick home.
An inflatable Munch’s Scream figure was posed horizontally in a rosemary bush at the entrance. On the grass was a selection of garish Halloween and Xmas decor. The Halloween stuff included a witch cauldron, a sign that read “Broom Parking” and a very ugly hand painted teapot in the shape of a witch hold a cat. There were a few faux jack o lanterns and a few objects with snowmen on them. In the yard was a pile of children’s games including one entitled “Throw Me a Bone”.
I bought nothing.

Bone throwing game.

Horrible teapot.

The Second sale on this street was very small and featured a variety of sporting goods including a portable putting green. Among some stuff on a table was a setoff plastic Civil War figures. I found this ironic after seeing the re-enactors earlier.

Boxes of Civil War characters.

Clairmont Rd. – Decatur “Upscale Yard Sale”

I’m not sure what made this sale upscale but it was quite interesting. Here a huge amount of stuff lie sprawled in front of a ranch style home. The mixture of clutter here was more unique than upscale. On a setoff shelves was a huge collection of VHS tapes all labeled with very large print labels. One tape even had a large label that said “blank”. On a table was a pile of CDs that had all been placed in library style soft plastic cases. Spread out in the middle of the yard was a huge array of plush toys, mostly bears but in the middle was a large smiling plush clown. A large selection of books carried many contrasting titles included among them were “Three Magic Words, a guide to foot reflexology”, “Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting”, a book of gags for religious ventriloquists and “The All American Bean Book”. Several tarps on the grass were covered in clothing mixed in with the clothing were a few unopened packages of women’s hose still bearing the 59 cent original price tags.
I bought nothing.

Well labeled video tapes.

Gags for sacred dummy humor.

Pile of plush.

Vintage hosiery in original packaging.

Re-enactors in the ‘hood

For the second year in a row the Kirkwood community near my home has celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta with tours, a 5K run, a party and Civil War re-enactors camped out in a local park. I am a history major and I appreciate people getting dressed up in costumes but I’ve never fully understood the full mindset of the re-enactor community. Today in a park near a large satellite dish array a few dozen of these dedicated individuals marched around, shot off a canon, made horseshoes, moseyed about and talked on cell phones while locals looked on. I hung out for a while and all those I spoke with were quite authoritative in their knowledge of the battle and the life of the troops. A few women and children were also in the mix. It’s a shame that more historical events are not reenacted everyone needs a reason to dress up in costume more often.