Fenzy in the Church

With the awaking of Spring, beauty of fall and hibernation of winter....church bazaars, rummage sales, White Elephant tables, Christmas tea, bake goodies and craft sales played an important role within any community,  they are the calm gathering to meet and greet, share the local news, shoot the shit and discuss the weather...

Not anymore...it's a time of total chaos within the basement walls... being the first in line is important, pushing and shoving are required for everyone is on the hunt for the bargain, and bartering over a $1.00 item can be heard.

 Growing up in small town that boasted a population boom of 1,500 people at one time... Parkhill is a quiet little place, know'n for the last town You hit before "Grand Bend" that is rich in tradition of community (as neighbors are always the first source of news) history and church's...yup we have 4 churches each playing a specific role within the lifestyle's of small town living. Those Church's each gathered themselves at least once a year for a rummage sale, and always a Christmas Tea, Bake & Craft Bazaar...it was a yearly awaiting to gather a few goodies but more importantly a time to talk with the neighbors, catch up on news, and be social. 

As a kid I would gather my allowance, meet up with my buddy's to see what treasure were before Us. We would carefully look for ourselves but also for each other and if we found that item our friend was looking for....check the room to make sure no one was looking to see us waving & smiling at our friend in delight....

So with Fall officially here it was open season once again,  with 3 churches on our Saturday morning trek for a bargin....the first church offered an new concept to Me "fill a bag for a buck"...tables neatly lined up with clothing, Knick Knacks and other goodies that might fancy my tastes,..... after quick look see , not much tickled my fancy so it was time to move on.

The second and third church always create a line up buzz for bargin hunters and pickers each year...the tables are packed with all kinds of good's  to temp the soul.....but with the line up growing rapidly so does the anticipation increase...with anticipation of a bargin this is when the frenzy begins....doors open, stampede rages forward and the friendly chit chat before doors open falls to the wayside as it is each man to himself (which I will never understand). With People darting everywhere with determination for a saving, My partner and I split our forces to cover the arena more quickly....Me only being 5'2 & 3/4(and yes the 3/4 is very important to us short people) I follow the pack... finally an opening at a long table filled with sweaters....and quest begins.

Within a few minutes I have had enough, gathered a couple of sweater gems and move on to the next table and squeeze myself in to see what I can find,  with a much larger lady on my back, the person beside me pushing at my ribs and an older gent grabbing everything in site...I take a minute to pause reminding myself to breath deep, stay calm and not let my inner demon surface and it's then I remember this should be fun, with attitude re-adjusted I take the time to talk with the church people working the tables and the friends that I meet up with and this is what I remember a church sale should be... a time to be apart of the community and through the art of conversation I find that one of the church's was raising money for new equipment for the kitchen and another where helping fund a children's program.....With a few goodies in hand I set out to find my partner Johnny Boy to see what treasure's he has found and let Him know I have had enough...

As Johnny Boy and I leave the building the sweet smell of food fill's the air And really what would a church sale be without FOOD....

Saturday morning(just after 10 am) pleasure was a BBQ HotDog with fried onions and a Pop for $2 bucks, So as I walked away with ketchup, mustard and onions falling from my dog, my bundle of goodies strapped to my arm and I smile for a time of bargins, chit chat with a few friends, food and even though the chaos and frenzy drive me crazy a trip down memory lane was worth it....and the thoughts of next week's marathon of church sale's frenzy awaits.