I’ve been falling behind in my documentation the last few weeks. So I wanted to catch up on a few of the things I’ve seen over that time. I’m not sure if it’s the time of year; overwork, becoming obsessed with bicycling ennui or malaise. But here’s some of the stuff I’ve encountered.
August 22ndMy biking obsession has been taking over and today only two sales neither or which were monumental in scope were on my biking route.
Ferguson St. - Candler Park – “Yards Sale” This was a mediocre sale that I would not have mentioned if I had gotten into the car and visited a lot more sales. The sale was sparse, most of the stuff they had was kid’s stuff. But laid out across the grass in front of the yard was an array of concrete numbers. For some reason I like this while I hated the rest of the sale. Perhaps it was the precise manner in which they were laid out. The seller seemed very proud of his arrangement. The other item was noting here was a chalkboard upon which was written, “Haven’t you always wanted a chalkboard?” I pedaled away with nothing.
Dalgren Ave - Edgewood “Yard Sale” On the way to this sale I had to bike by a crazed man with a loose pit bull by his side. As he walked he kept yelling about people in the neighborhood who did not like him and kept insisting loudly that this was not his dog. I was glad to get to this home that to me was a safe harbor from the crazy guy and the pit bull that he claimed not to own. Here in front of a small bungalow I found a box of Krusty O’s cereal, a animated head inside a clear plastic bubble, a large print Bible, some iron on transfer paper, a Bee Gees lunch box and a large painting of Christ altered to look like Christ was holding a cute kitten. While I was there a gray calico cat strutted over the good covering the yard. Soon the crazed man came walking past the yard sale. The cat ran for cover and I tried not to make eye contact.
I bought the transfer paper and made it home without incident.
head in plastic bubble.
Religious adaptation found in Edgewood.
August 23rd
New York Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale” The following Sunday I happened upon this sale on my way to the hardware store and the library. A large sign painted upon a warped piece of plywood led me to the event. I parked next to a sign demanding the return of a wheelbarrow that was taken by someone who read the free sign on the wheelbarrow too liberally. It seems the wheelbarrow was simply the container for the stuff not free itself. When I arrived there the sellers recognized me as that guy in the neighborhood who takes pictures at yard sales. One of the women reminded me that I had taken here picture a few months back holding pink plush teddy bear. The noted bear was now at this sale. The sellers were having fun here and had made careful arrangements of small bottles of shampoo and lotions, a keyboard placed in front of a toaster oven to look like a PC and a car hood covered in surrealist prints by an artist they knew.
One of the sellers told me she had inherited an arts supply store from here mother and had a bunch of stuff in her nearby basement and that she wanted me and Cindy to come and check it out. I have not been there yet and I bought nothing. But they were happy to have me taking more pictures of their stuff.
Hybird computer toaster oven.
August 29th
North Ave. - Poncy Highlands “Yard Sale” The following week I was back on my bike (I covered over 40 miles by bike this week a standard I want to continue and improve upon). I followed some signs to this sale in the small front yard of a brick bungalow near Manuel’s tavern. Here a young man and woman were divesting themselves of large collections of pop culture memorabilia. They had two bins of Simpson’s related games and figuring, a selection of refrigerator magnets covering everything from Betty Page to Devine to the Virgin Mary, what appeared to be an entire village of small dolls constructed from sea shells and a basket of San Rio merchandise. Other items were just fringe pop oddities, such as a pair of large eyeball shaped candles, a pair of fake fur covered boots, a collection of plastic swizzle sticks, a copy of Playboy with Madonna on the cover and several Margaret Keane style painting of big eyed cats and dogs. Their book selection matched their accumulated stuff. In a few bins of books I found “Hair Styles”, “Jim and Tammy Baker”, “White Trash Cooking” and “Low Life in High Heals”. More practical titles included “George Foreman’s Knock out the Fat” and a home repair manual.
I bought nothing.
Collection of shell dolls
Large eyed artwork.
September 5th
McLendon Ave. - Lake Claire "Yard Sale” This Labor Day I resumed my normal habit of plotting addresses and spending the morning in the car driving from sale to sale. But there was almost nothing to be found. It appears that people are actually traveling and vacationing this Labor day or that maybe people had other things to do. I did visit one sale at the far end of my neighborhood. Here a woman who had at one time been in the antique business had assembled a large collection of old stuff in her front yard. It’s difficult as to what qualifies something as an antique these days but she had some objects of visual interest. Among the clutter gathered here was a straw mask the type sold at cruise ship ports of call, some odd new religious artwork, a pair of male hula dancer dolls, a large Dore print, a painting of a rat serving and angry duck soup, jewelry, some women’s clothing and a selection of children’s books from the 1950’s ranging from the Bobsey twins to Cherry Ames Nursing books.
I bought nothing.
Male hula figures.
Nursing book.
angry duck painting
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