(Not that junk, people!!!)
Sometimes near my apartment, homeless individuals will put a sheet, towel, or large piece of cardboard on the sidewalk and lay out a variety of items they've salvaged. The goal is to earn some pocket change by selling these treasures from the trash. I've always wondered if this actually yielded any sales until once Husband and I were walking by a now defunct OTB on 72nd Street and observed a man in a suit haggling with a homeless guy over the price of a broken toaster oven.
This method of sales seemed unique to the homeless population of New York City. However, this morning Dr. P and I went to the Swap Shop of Sunrise, FL, and I learned that other vendors use the same method to display their wares. Seriously, this was the crappiest flea market I've ever been to. (The nicest is the Aloha Swap Meet in Honolulu - that place kicks ass. The second crappiest is somewhere by O'Hare airport. There's an average flea market every Sunday on the backtop of a public school on 76th Street and Columbus Ave., but I digress.) Some vendors were normal, with tents and tables or stalls chock full of sunglasses, toiletries that "fell off the truck," and low quality underwear and linens. Others were a little fancier, inside the air conditioned hall. Others replicated the New York City Homeless Person Method of Selling Shit. They had large sheets or table clothes spread over their patch of pavement at the flea market and were selling items that clearly were on the overused side of used. Dr. P and I winced at the ones who lined the ground with second- (or third- or fourth-) hand car seats, which is really dangerous because buyers don't know if the product was damaged internally in an accident before. (I think it is even illegal to resell car seats in some states.)
Anyway, the whole flea market was quite a scene. There were even porn vendors.
After the flea market, we hit the beach. Happily, the water was super warm and we frolicked in the surf for a bit. I even didn't mind sitting on the sand. (I hate sand. A lot.) For some reason, my left arm and the back of my right hand burned, so we only stayed two hours. It was so nice to be in the refreshing breeze. (Incidentally, no one sold anything off their beach towels.)
Tomorrow, I'm heading back to NYC first thing in the morning. I can't believe the weekend is over already. Time sure flies when you are having fun looking at other people's used porn magazines.
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I like yard sales and flea markets - I always thought it was a southern thing.
ReplyDeleteet, not at all. In fact, I thought it was a northern thing!
ReplyDeleteAnd Suzanne, hopefully the magazines weren't sticky. ewww....