My dear friend Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón, was looking for a piece of furniture and found it on Facebook Marketplace. She went to pick it up at a garage sale. Chris, who was conducting the sale had the item neatly tucked away and they closed the sale.
I let Chris know that I would be doing a sketch, saying “don’t mind me, I’m the weird guy sketching in the shade of the tree.” He said, “You must get that a lot.” Which I do. I don’t usually announce that I will be sketching, but I would be sketching his private property, so I thought it was the polite thing to do.
In the front yard, hundreds of items were organized on folding tables on the lawn. I noticed a beautiful bright yellow hammock and Stella noticed it about the same time. She purchased it, along with several other small items for about $5. She was stunned. “Are you sure?” she asked. “For you, absolutely.” He said. Some people are destined for sweet deals.
Stella had an appointment and left, but I stayed behind to sketch. I liked the look of the giant oak tree that dwarfed the home and all the activity as people came and went.
Some people seemed quite seasoned to garage sales and estate sales. One woman regretted not buying an item that had sold the previous week for dirt cheap. Another woman purchased a large piece of furniture which he helped her tie down on top of her car roof.
Chris must also collect items at estate sales, I can’t imagine any other reason he would have so many knick-knacks. He had to run down the street to fix a garage sale sign which had fallen over. One of the shoppers must have told him about it. While he was gone, I wondered if I was in charge. Maybe I could close a sale! However it was very quiet while he was away. There were no shoppers inspecting items. I didn’t sell a thing. Typical.
A husband and wife searched the sale together. She joked that it took her 30 years to train him into the obedient man he is today. He wore a T-shirt that said,” I turn wood into things, what’s your superpower?.” Chris asked how I was doing. We spoke for a bit and he said to me, “Folks that show up to garage sales are the salt of the earth.” I added that they are also creative. After I said that, it sounded self serving, but I was thinking of the guy with the “I turn wood into things” t-shirt. It would be fun to sketch that guy’s woodworking shop.
Chris had worked with Lon Smart a former Disney Feature Animation colleague of mine years ago. It therefor stands to reason that Chris must be creative himself. He is moving next month and I have to wonder what new adventure he is embarking on. One of the shoppers was a return visitor and he said, “Why did we meet only last week? You are someone I would have liked to have as a friend.”
I showed Chris the sketch when I was done. I thought it would be rude to just leave. He was delighted and said, “I am a new fan.” As I drove away I spotted the garage sale sign, several blocks away, standing perfectly erect.