The Thrill of the Hunt

 

They start on Thursdays.  The best days are Thursdays and Fridays.  By Sunday everything has been picked over, or is already gone.

She has always been a bargain hunter, so on Thursdays we head out looking for Garage Sale Signs.  Most are very poorly done.  They are either too small, so you can’t read the address, or there is no arrow, showing which way to turn.  It is just every now and then you come across a good one.  A big sign, dark, bold letters, and arrow and maybe a balloon attached.  And not just one sign but signs leading you all the way there.  Those are great.

Last Thursday we headed out searching for good garage sales.  There wasn’t anything in particular we needed, we just enjoy the hunt.  That is when we came across a sign, in fact, a very odd sign.  All it said was YES, and it had a balloon attached and an arrow pointing left.

We hesitated, thinking maybe it was someone’s birthday party and not a garage sale.  But we were curious and out anyway, so we followed the arrow.  At the end of the block was another sign, with the same color balloon and again, all it said was YES.

Now we were thinking maybe someone had proposed marriage and this was their partner’s response, but we couldn’t stop now.  We kept going.  If this was a garage sale, then it was darn clever.  It took two more blocks but we finally found it.  The same color balloon, the same color marker on the sign, but this time it said, HERE.

One man sat on a folding chair in front of his open garage door, but there were no tables full of items, nothing strewn about the driveway or lawn, just the guy sitting on his chair.  He looked pleasant enough and gave us a slight wave as we slowed to a stop.

We weren’t really sure what we should do at this point.  Do we get out and just ask him what’s going on.  Do we give it up and drive on, hoping to see something a little more familiar in the world of garage sales.  As we sat there trying to decide he made no other gestures.  He simply looked back at us but then stood up and waved his arm for us to come over.

As we left the car he was already placing another chair out next to his.  Now how strange was this?  Was he expecting us to sit and join him in his driveway?

A few steps away from our car and my wife took hold of my arm.  “You go see what this is all about.  I think I’ll just wait in the car.”  And she let go of my arm and headed back to get in the car.  I took a few more steps towards the man, who was now again seated.

“Hello.  Is this a garage sale?”

He smiled and said, “I’m neither buying nor selling, please have a seat.”

I remained standing, still cautious of this person.  “What’s with the signs?”

He reached over and patted the chair next to him.  “Join me and I’ll explain everything.”

I looked back at the car.  My wife was back inside and was holding her book.

“You’ve got time.  She is going to read for a short time and then, if she is anything like me, she’ll fall asleep.”

I looked back at his garage.  It looked neatly organized.

“Zobostic, right?  But you go by ZC?  I’ve been following your blog for a few years now.  I know quite a bit about you, like those signs I put out.  I knew you couldn’t resist.”

I reached over and pulled my chair a little farther away from his and I sat, although still very leery.

“Please explain.  So far none of this makes any sense.  Who are you and how did you know I’d follow your signs?”

“The same way I knew I’d only need one more chair.  I knew Claudia wouldn’t join us and if you’ll look, she’s already fallen asleep, just like I predicted.”

“Do we know each other?  Have we met before and I don’t remember?”

“No ZC, you’ve never met me, but you are here for a reason.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s your blog.  You have to stop writing it.  You have one more book in you.  It’s an important one and it’s going to change things.”

“How do you know these things?  How did you know I’d see your signs and follow them?  Who are you?”

“Haven’t you noticed that no one else has shown up?  Nobody else can see those signs.  They were put there just for you and if you drive back, following the same route, you’ll see they are no longer there. In fact, when you leave here, you won’t remember any of this, not me, not the signs, nothing.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  I just looked at this man for a while, trying to wrap my head around this nonsense. He appeared to be normal.  He kind of dressed like Jimmy Buffet and had a very casual or calming feel about him.

Then he stood up, looked at me and said, “Write the book.”

I could tell our meeting was over.  He turned and walked into the garage and then disappeared into the house.

I stood and headed back to the car.  Claudia was still snoozing.  As I got in behind the wheel she woke up.

“How’s your book? I asked.

“Oh, it’s just a bunch of fluff.  This author writes the same story over and over.  She just changes the names around and we’re not supposed to recognize it.  This looks like a nice neighborhood, let’s look around here and then get some lunch, what do you say?”

“Sounds good to me.”

 

We drove around searching for signs and eventually ended up at Angelo’s for lunch.

Here’s the thing.  I don’t know if what you just read really happened and I simply can’t remember or if I dreamt it.  

I'm not sure.