Saturday 7/28/07

Sign seen through wet windshield.














It was on the verge of rain when I left the house this morning at 9:20. It began raining off and on shortly after that time. Each sale I visited reacted differently to the rain.

Wylie St. - Edgewood “Yard Sale”

I was personally invited to this sale by an artist who was familiar with my work. The event was in front of a small frame one-story home not far from Moreland Ave. A moderate selection of goods was gathered in the small yard when I arrived amid menacing rain clouds. Here I found a selection of Mac based computer items, well arranged women’s clothing hung on a fence, an aging power Mac, kitchenwares and odd assorted items spread out on a tarp on the grass. The seller asked me if I had seen the plastic German made figure of a fellow blowing bubbles from his buttocks. It was actually the first thing I was drawn to. Other notable items included a model of a human heart and a pillow shaped like a leopard. In a box of books I noted the following titles “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”, “Information Graphics”, “Walt Whitman, a Life”, “Stoned”, “If You Don’t Buy This Book We’ll Kill This Dog” and “The King is Dead”. In a box of novelty buttons I found several promoting the site subversivecrossstitch.com.
While I was photographing the artifacts the rain clouds opened up and the sellers began moving and covering their stuff.
I thanked the seller for his invite but bought nothing.

Bubble blowin figure.


















Heart in a box.

















Indiana Ave. – Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This was in the driveway and garage of a strange looking infill home in my neighborhood. My best description for these two adjoining homes would be faux-Charlestonian. The assembled goods were the typical newish things one often finds at newer in-town homes. New unused towel racks and new but seemingly useless electronics like not so great computer speakers and oversized car amps. They had a fair amount of furniture in the driveway and when the rain came to this sale they began a form of yard sale triage to save what they felt were the most damageable and valuable items from the rainfall. Protected from the rain in the garage were some items of no discernable value such as a Chia pet dinosaur and some Easter décor. On a book shelf I found “Build Your Own Home Theatre”, “Potatoes not Prozac”, “Men’s Health Advisor 1994”, “The Summons”, “The Year the Light Came On”, “Promenades en France” and “Thinking Out of the Box”.
Outside I found, before they were covered up or moved some oversized cookie jars in the shape of some sort of knock off Puffin Fresh and some cheap Halloween decorations. Not for sale but of note here were the various awards from college fraternities and one of those hazing paddles. These objects were shielded from the coming downpour.
I bought a wireless mouse for a dollar. I’m not sure if it works.

Halloween figure awaiting soaking rain.
















Chia dino safe from the rain.
















Oxford Rd. Emory – “Multifamily Sale”

This sale was on the arts listserv. Because of the rain most of the stuff here was crowded into a claustrophobic room that may have been a garage at one time. Most of the stuff in this room was electronics , music items and some books. One of the sellers was very helpful as I was seeking a new hard drive for my older Mac. But her possibly useful recommendation that entailed buying a big raid drive and taking it apart seemed too complicated to me. In another room which I was led into then left alone in with the door closed, was larger but equally claustrophobic. Here I found clothing, some more musical stuff, roller blades and some art supplies. They had closed the door not to trap me but to keep their cat from escaping.
While the sale was a bit confusing the sellers were very nice. I bought nothing.



Rocky Ford - Kirkwood “Yard Sale”

On the way to the Dekalb Farmers Market I stopped by this sale in back of a small frame home. Here three people sat nonchalantly as the rain drizzled on their goods. Among the wet stuff was a fancy coffee maker, clothing, shoes, roller blades, a baseball mitt and a five foot tripod projection screen. In a box of books I found Two Honda Civic repair manuals, a selection of romance novels and “The Autobiography of Henry VIII”. Next to the books was a box of business and self esteem CD sets that included
“The Uncommon Leader”, “The Psychology of Success”, “Swim with the Sharks”, “Thriving on Chaos”, “The Winning Woman” and “The Road Less Traveled”.
I bought nothing but admired the seller’s attitude towards the weather.

Box of wet footwear.















Sussex Rd. - Avondale Estates ”Yard Sale”

This sale represented the final attitude of dealing with the rain. There was no sale but simply a pile of wet goods on the curb.
I didn’t even get out of the car.
Discarded remnants of a rained out sale.