The Soapbox Archives:
The next time I have a yard sale, I'm going to get all my neighbors to also have a yard sale at the same time. This would make the block a destination event for people who constantly go to yard sales. Rather than rush through a yard sale so they could go to the next one a few blocks away, they'd just go next door. Think of all the gas people would save.
I wasn't taking a survey, but it seemed like a lot of people in expensive cars showed up for the yard sale. What is a person driving a Mercedes or a Lexus looking for bargains at a yard sale? I would expect those kinds of people to buy new and retail.
However, the original reason I noticed those types of cars is the fact that a lot of these people didn't have any qualms about parking in front of other people's driveways or in front of fire hydrants just to be 10 feet closer to the yard sale. I guess they're too rich and important to waste time finding a legitimate parking space (10 feet away), not to mention driving on the right side of the street.
But while there are people looking for certain items that they might not be able to find, like vinyl records, there are also a fair number of people who only want to feel that they're getting a bargain, even at the cost of someone's dignity.
We had two boxes filled with a pristine 8-setting set of dishes. We were trying to move them since we already had a couple of sets of place settings so we priced the entire set for $10. That was an incredible deal. Some guy offered $5. When we countered with $7, he walked away. He walked away from a great deal because of the price of a medium cup of coffee. We eventually sold them set for the original asking price to the neighbors across the street and they were extremely happy that the set was available.
Even if the people who run yard sales just want to clear out the space, they should get some reasonable respect on the things they're selling because they're going to be offering the items at a ridiculously low price anyway. Case in point, I was selling a near-mint copy of the "green" Wimpy Kid book for $2. Some family came by and the mother said that she saw the book on Amazon.com for $5. They offered $1. The book retails for $15 brand new, and they would have paid more to buy a used book online, and they were still arrogant enough lowball the value of the book. Luckily I heard their comment about seeing it on Amazon.com and used that against them. I got my $2 and they got an almost new copy of the book.
And people wonder why I keep saying I'll never do a yard sale again.
Most of the time, these dance promoters will send me their information to be included with the rest of the website. They're usually very enthusiastic about doing that. After that, however, most of them forget I ever existed. If they know that their potential customers are getting incorrect and/or incomplete information, they'll be at a disadvantage compared to their competitors and maybe, just maybe, they'll get off their butts and read the information I have for them on this website and send me their corrections. Maybe they'd like their dances in the calendars so customers will know when the events are being held. Maybe it would attract customers who would have gone elsewhere.
The dance promoters are making a living teaching classes and hosting dances. It's *their* job to get the word out.
Bonnie, please keep doing what you're doing.
But other people who are looking at these people have no idea how fast these people react. That's why certain activities don't make sense and have to be regulated. I would imagine that some people will take a strong view that any such regulations is an infringement on their freedom.
Alas, we don't live in isolation; we have to survive in a civilization where rules are put into place to protect *everyone else*. Besides, I'm not aware of any right to talk or text on a cellphone. And, unfortunately for those who feel that letting someone text while driving is like throwing chlorine into the gene pool, the results of their actions affect way more than the individual. I wouldn't want anyone driving near *me* to be texting on their cellphone.
As such, I would like to suggest some additions to those texting laws:
There are enough distractions in life as it is. Having to watch out for other people's stupidity as well as watching out for one's self makes life just so much harder. And people who are texting and walking/driving/moving and get hit by other people won't be blaming themselves for doing semething so incredibly stupid.
To the wonderful person who dropped the *glass* bottle of spagetti sauce in the parking lot of the Allston Star Market:
Do you teach your kids that they don't have to pick up after themselves because there will always be someone around to pick up after them?What about the next person who accidentally drives over that bottles and scatters shattered glass all over the parking lot? Would you be willing to pay for their tire repairs or replacement?
I had to park further away from the store so Denyce wouldn't step into the mess, and yes, I picked up the bottle and threw it away in the trash. The fact that someone else is a dumbass doesn't mean I have to be one, too.
The person who sits in the highest office of the land has to (or will) swear to put the sovereignty and well-being of the United States of America above all others. They're not just the governor of a state or the mayor of a city; they're the President of over 322 million people and must represent the best interests of all the people, not just that of one state or worse, one segment of that state. If they can't promise that, they shouldn't get to be POTUS.
With that in mind, I want you to ask yourself this one question:
Would you vote for anyone who thinks it's okay for any flag of any nation (real or imaginary) to fly higher than the flag of the United States of America within the United States or within any such sovereign territory (including a naval ship or embassy in another country)?
It's not a matter of "states' rights", not anymore. That argument was resolved on April 9, 1865
By the way, I'm not against someone or some organization flying or showing the Confederate flag. They have a constitutional right to their Freedom of Speech. And it gives me fair warning as to what kind of people they are.
On the other hand, the United States of America fought a war for four years that costed 620,000 lives so that the nation would be kept whole and no other sovereign flag would fly in the lands between Canada and Mexico. Why would any state capitol fly any other flags other than their own or the US flag unless they felt their primary allegiance was to that other flag. Whatever shape or form it was in, the Confederate flags were first raised by people who *attacked* the United States of America. We have a word for those kinds of people: "traitors".