¶ … Yard Sale Purchase
A three-page story about a yard sale. The women want to buy a pair of shoes but the owner does not want to sell them to her sister.
NOT THOSE SHOES
The garage sale is going to be tomorrow. It will be a kind of family gathering. My daughter-in-law, Dilly, is providing the garage. Dilly and I are sorting through things to get ready for the garage sale. There is a lot of stuff to be sorted. There is no price on half of the items. I hate it when people come early before it is quite ready. Some things are better thrown away than sold.
Oh Dilly, is that my older sister, Trish? Did you call and tell her we were having a garage sale?" I asked.
Trish walks up and starts looking at different things and says, "You can't be selling those books! That's the Berenstein Bears Collection." thought, "How many times does my oldest sister drop by -- I ask you! I can't stand know-it-alls -- even when their family."
We don't need the books, I answered.
Well, we do." Trish answers.
Johnnie's read them all a million times."
Well, we have other children in our family. Gracie has little Heather and she is just four," Trish says.
They have dozen of books!" I answer.
Gracie's due any day."
Well, that kid won't be reading for another five years!" I answer thinking how ridiculous it would be to keep those books.
Ah, you can read to them before they're born. It's good for them. I'll buy the books. How much are they?" answer, "You don't have to...
They're worth much more. How much are these shoes?"
Oh, you don't want those shoes!!" I answer.
Why not. They're cute."
Those are cheap shoes." (This is my sister now I'm talking to. The shoes are white tennis with a little braided effect around them. They're really cute -- but they weren't finished right on the inside and they're miserable to wear. Knowing my sister she'll wear them until they wear out and by then she'll be crippled. They're cute for show if you're not going to be on your feet much. I wish I'd trashed them."
Trish, those shoes are awful."
Well, you have them out here for sale. What were you going to ask for them?"
It's not a question of price. They're not good shoes." I answered,
They could not be that bad, or you wouldn't have them out here for sale. How much do you want for them?" Trish asked.
Sisters are a pain. Do you have any? Doesn't she understand I don't want her to buy those shoes because they will hurt her feet? Now she's insinuating that if I had any ethics I wouldn't be selling them. I consider it a "buyer beware" situation for the general public, but if I sell things to my own sister I'll never hear the end of it.)
Let me try them on. Do you have any socks for sale?"
Do I need this? I ought to just sell her the old bunion makers.) I answer, "No, I don't have any socks for sale."
Here's some, a quarter a piece." Trish says.
I'm telling…
