Herman Sillas

Cora enjoys the Antique Road Show on tv. She loves it when a person who purchased something at a garage sale for ten bucks finds out that it is worth thousands of dollars. One of our neighbors, Ann Johnson, was an antique dealer. So, it was inevitable that she and Cora would decide to have a garage sale together. They were joined by Tracy Pittman, another neighbor. They figured three garage sales at one time would draw a big crowd. I know we needed to empty our garage, but I was fearful Cora’s love for a bargain would tempt her to buy from Ann or Tracy and then we’d be right back where we started or worse.

The day before the sale, Cora was going through her inventory with Ann and getting her opinion regarding the value of items. Under this system, Cora removed anything of value. She didn’t want to see some item she had placed in her garages sale show up later on the Antique Road Show worth more than she priced it. Saturday morning arrived. I was up at the break of dawn helping her set up. Folks in pickup trucks cruised by checking our wares. Nothing enticed them and they moved on. Andrea, our youngest daughter, had stayed over the night before with her family to help Cora. We laughed as we remembered our last garage sale when we moved from our prior home. Cora’s goal was to make money. The rest of us were committed to reducing the things we’d have to pack. Cora won out. “You know what I paid for that?” she’d say when we suggested a price. We didn’t sell much.

So this time, after I helped set up the inventory, I headed out to the pier with a cart and poles. She set the prices. I called in a couple of hours later. Not much happening Cora said somewhat disappointed. Some items had sold but the volume wasn’t great. Fish weren’t biting either, so by eleven I was home. Cora and Andrea were tired and few items had been sold. It’s the economy I suggested. I had asked ten dollars for a walnut four by four-floor mat. No buyers. By 1:00 p.m. we closed up. Cora and Andrea were short of their money predictions. “Never again,” they said.
“I wonder if it’s true?” I said.
“What?” Cora asked.

“I wonder whether there are folks that buy something at a garage sale for ten bucks that’s worth several thousands?”
“Sure,” Cora said with certainty.

“How come the tv shows don’t go back and interview the seller?” I asked. See, folks that’s the show I’d watch. Either the buyer was lying about the price or the seller would be pretty upset at being taken. The producer would have the camera zero in on the face of the seller as he or she is told that their item was worth twenty-five thousand dollars! Talk about drama? That’s drama! Try explaining that to your spouse. Being married to Cora, I wouldn’t have to worry. We still have those items that Ann said were worth something. Everything else we gave away the following week. I left the floor mat out overnight with a “free” sign on it. The next morning the mat was gone. I hope Cora won’t see it on tv being explained by an expert that it was worth several hundred dollars because they don’t make them any more.

She took us all out for dinner the night of the garage sale using her profits of the day. It was fun paying with quarters and dimes. That’s the view from the pier.