The Side Effects of Endorphins

Snarling Early Birds

I remember one spring morning we had a yard sale. This is far from my skill set. Word got out that we were going to sell some beanie babies. I don’t remember how.

We advertised the start of the yard sale for 8 o’clock in the morning. People were lined up at 7 o’clock in the morning waiting to see the babies. They weren’t exactly nice about it either. They wanted to fill out their collection. I remember two ladies getting into a heated snarl. I believe I sold a few to a neighbor girl on her bike much the dismay of the snarling women.

American Girls

Happyland by J. Robert Lennon – is a satirical novel by J. Robert Lennon The book centers on a megalomaniacal entrepreneur who creates the “Happy Girls” doll company and uses her wealth to take over a small upstate New York town. Jay Robert Lennon is one of my favorite authors however I didn’t enjoy this book because the family was so annoying. I guess that was the point.

I don’t remember the exact sequence of events, but my daughter was selling her American Girls dolls.

Clandestine

I was surprised the value they had. We were contacted by a buyer, who wanted to buy a few.

It was like an underground drug deal. We met behind a McDonald’s about 10 miles out of town on a busy industrial Road. Naturally with my daughter because of the shadiness of the deal. She can’t drive either.

It was a cash deal and I handed over the dolls and he the cash. I walked away from the deal looking over my shoulder looking for hitman hanging in the trees.

We did laugh the entire way home. And like I always say if everything went according to the script, what stories are we have to tell

Beer Cans

Yes, as a kid I collected beer cans. It was an obsession no different than beanie babies or American girls. We would scour this side of the roads for rare cans in dump sites for cans from the 40s and 50s. Some cans went for about $100.

Post Mortem

We are in our final day of moving and it is amazing what we have collected. The moving truck is heading up I5 towards Everett this morning. I got a notification from the moving company that we were 800 pounds overweight. We didn’t even move a washer and dryer or refrigerator.

I gave away so many things. I estimate we gave away 500 books and tons of furniture (sic). It is amazing what we purchase and accumulate. I’m sitting here on the windowsill this morning, enjoying the quiet and the emptiness, hoping not to get into that cycle again