A few weeks ago banners went up on one of the main streets, not main as in 'filled with shops and a joy to browse through' but main as in 'long and boring and filled with houses and empty sidewalks California suburban wasteland' main. They announced that we should buy local.
Did that mean run to the local branch of Costco, Barnes & Noble and Staples or the mom and pop beauty supply, chocolatier, alterations lady or the library Saturday book sale?
Or does it mean go to the Yard Sale! as the flyer stuck under my car's windshield wiper demanded? Someone had plastered every car in the lot with a waving piece of white paper. I dare you to pull it off and throw it in the back seat - not on the ground, shame on you for littering - without glancing at it to see what someone is selling you.
And whoever was hosting this visit to their driveway was offering up an entire house. We're talking power tools, appliances, office furniture, paintings. I looked for evidence that it was an estate sale or maybe 'we're moving because we can't stand the traffic jams on the 101 in the middle of the night'.
No, this was a yuppie dumping their stuff. My first thought was - The Economy.
Check out this list:
Appliances - stainless steel small fridge, side-by-side refrigerator with ice and water dispenser, toaster oven (stainless steel), coffee maker (black/stainless steel) bread maker (white), waffle maker (stainless steel), panini sandwich grill (silver), electric juicer (white), 10 cup rice cooker (black/stainless steel)
But wait, there's more!
Circular saw, power drill, tile saw, table saw, RotoZip saw, power sander, jig saw and don't forget the electric group: lawn mover, weed whacker, hedge trimmer, chain saw.
There's even more but you get the picture. When you get rid of the gimmicky appliances - rice maker? I use a pot and a cover - it can only mean you need the cash. That you would have had if you hadn't spent the money in the first place. Perhaps you lost your job or your house is in foreclosure and you need to vacate immediately. This is California we're talking about. Big numbers in unemployment and foreclosures.
These people are selling off both a ceramic hair curler AND a ceramic hair flat iron. If you have curly hair you want it straight. If you have straight hair, you long for the curls. We are a nation of never satisfied people. We are consumers.
Call me a looky-lu but I have to swing by and see who this is.
2 comments:
One of the things I hate about Valencia is how few non-chain merchants and restaurants there are here.
LOL@ the gal who had both the curling iron and the flattening iron. I am that gal too. ;-)
How can I take photos of charming shops when even the chocolatier we have is in the same mall as the IHOP? Thanks for commenting.
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