Monday Musings - Rude?

I got my feelings hurt on Friday by a stereotypical little old lady.

The scene of the assault on my psyche was Granny’s Attic, a rummage sale billed as the biggest in the area.  It may be, but, unfortunately, the building housing the sale isn’t so big, and quickly becomes standing room only, with little room to move between the aisles once it fills up with shoppers.

Ella and I had gotten to the sale early, about an hour in advance, just to get toward the front of the line. Once the doors opened, it was a slow motion dash as shoppers filed in, stopping to look at stuff, which prevented the shoppers behind them from entering the building.  Dragging my rolling tote behind me, I methodically made my way to the Book Room in the back of the building, while Ella veered off toward the toys.  Luckily, I had the room to myself for a while, and found a few good books.  Upon leaving the room, I realized that it was going to be a lesson in patience to make my way back up the aisle to the CDs and DVDs, where Ella already was.

After running over a few ankles, and hitting only the occasional shin, my tote and I made it, and I spent some quality time looking over the media, again finding a few good items.  With the crowd the way it was, it would have been silly of me to try and work my way up or down an aisle, and I told Ella that I was going to stay there while she looked around some more.  After a bit, she was finally ready to go.

The checkout line was stretched in front of where I was standing, and the only way to get to the back of the line was to fight my way through the crowd.  Fortunately, at that time, the line wasn’t too long, and I told the last person that I was going to squeeze behind them once the line got to where I was, instead of trying to drag my tote, and two of Ella’s bags through the mass of humanity.

A little old lady (no more than 5’ 2” or so, and hunched over), directly in front of me, however, somehow took offense at my ploy to hold a spot in line without actually standing in the line, even though I wasn’t going to get in front of her.  In fact, I would be several people behind her.

With her grandson playing around her feet, she looked at me and said, “I know where you were” (pointing to where I had been looking at the media), and that I was being “very rude,” with her voice rising above the din on the word “rude.”

“How am I being rude?” I smiled as I asked her.  “I’m going to the end of the line; I’m just waiting right here until it gets to me.”

This little old hunched-over lady then raised her hand to the “talk to the hand” position, and yells, “leave me alone.”

Needless to say, everyone around was watching us by now, with most looking at her in bemusement. I half expected the rummage sale police to sweep in, take my stuff, and escort me out for harassing this sweet, innocent little lady.

Fortunately, the scene ended as quickly as it began, with the lady shuffling forward, and me keeping my mouth closed, even though I really, really wanted to say something.

At a church sale on Saturday, I picked up three items that had a “Make an Offer” sticker on them.  They were two vintage car amplifiers, and a vintage 8-track player for a car.  I researched them the best I could on my phone, but really couldn’t find any information.  So, I decided to make a low offer on these nearly 40 year old electronic pieces.  I asked the cashier what she wanted for them, and she said I had to make an offer.  I said $5 each, and she said that was too low.  OK, what did she think was fair offer, I asked.  She said $20 each, which was way too high.  I countered with $25 for all three, but she stuck with $60 and wouldn’t budge.  I passed on the items.

What irritated me, though, was that my brother-in-law, who attended the sale with us, bought what turned out to be a new in-box 20-inch Disney Princess TV/DVD player combo for a whopping $20.  Not that I wanted the TV, but I thought it was ridiculous for them to sell the new TV so cheap, and 40-year old untested electronics so high.

C’est la vie.

I skipped the book sale this weekend, including the preview sale on Thursday.  I had dropped by the site of the sale during my lunch hour on Thursday just to get a feel for what the AAUW had to offer.  The volunteers were still setting up, but I could tell right then that the nonfiction selection was going to be small.  Since the preview sale usually attracts many dealers, I figured the competition for the few quality books would be crazy, and I just didn’t feel like joining the feeding frenzy.

Overall, the weekend was productive, despite the hurt feelings, missed electronics, and avoided book sale.  I did get to spend Sunday listing items, thanks to Ella, who had spent some time last week taking pictures for me.  It was her first time taking ebay shots, and she did a great job, and really saved me a lot of time.  Of course, now that I know she can do it …

With Halloween upon us, I’m starting to get a little antsy about not being ready for the silly season.  I still have tons of things to list, so I had better get to it.

Have a great week.