Yard Sale

Yesterday hubby and I participated in our neighborhood's annual yard sale. "Cool," we thought. "We'll just put some old stuff out in the yard and chill on the porch for the day."

Not.

Little did we know that yard-saling is serious business - especially when you're unloading your entire CD collection (we've gone completely digital). After a couple people happened upon the selection circa 10am, a veritable swarm of hipsters descended, having apparently heard about us via an impromptu cell phone tree. One woman bought 50 CDs from us after poring over the collection for at least an hour. Another guy showed up at the end of the day and announced he was ready to "buy in bulk" - he bought 105 CDS from us, which he planned to try to resell online. He also bought my husband's old leather jacket, which I have to say looked perfect over his Tom Waits tshirt.

Meanwhile we were also trying to unload everything from a cheese grater to a gharish pair of clip-on earrings I think I wore to the prom. Our neighbor Karla joined us at one point - I'd befriended her on the street the day before, and learned she's a painter and fellow devotee of The Artist's Way. She was trying to get rid of a bunch of clothes - "$4 for this dress! It's perfect for salsa dancing!" she called to people as they scuttled past - as well as a range of knick-knacks, including a jar shaped like a tomato and an Elvis portrait in a small gold frame.

We also met a fellow 48 Hour Film Project participant, who gave me her card: "Actress/Attorney," it read - plus a wedding planner, another painter, and a big muscley guy who double-parked his SUV to come buy a PBS messenger bag for $1. It was great - absolutely exhausting, but also a great reminder of the characters who live all around us. Something to remember.