No, I didn’t end up buying anything but as I said, it’s not about the buying, it’s about the looking. Half the fun is seeing what sorts of outlandish things folks give house space.

Why on earth would anyone bother to keep a chocolate Nordstrom’s card for, apparently, decades? Who decided to market a game targeted to the 8 year old boy market and label it “educational?” It was about slime or monsters or some such but there it was, right on the box - “Educational!” Perhaps it was educational in the sense that it was a cautionary tale about not stealing from Ed “Big Daddy” Ross. And the tchotchkies, of course. I used to work with a woman who would give these away at the office during holidays. She was a sweet woman and her heart was in the right place but I wasted no time in jettisoning the ceramic whatsis or gaily painted wooden doodad at the earliest opportunity.

Actually, on reflection, I really shouldn’t slam these people. They did manage to come to their senses and realize that they weren’t ever going to use that hand-cranked home meat slicer, or that the clown print clashed with the decor, and decided to unload.

And yes, I was a bit bored at the last stop, but I sincerely hope that I didn’t make the rest of you feel rushed. I was married for 17 years; I fully grasp the concept that womens’ clothing must be fully inspected in detail before purchase.

This dovetails neatly with the other 50 percent of the fun of yard sales, that you have to take the time to thoroughly look at the merchandise. 99 percent is worthless garbage; 1 percent is gold. If you only look at 80 percent of the goods… you might miss the gold for the dross. And I don’t begrudge ANY time spent while y’all sort through the clothing racks, even if I have no personal interest. One good find might just make the trip, and I’m not about to take that fun away from y’all - take all the time you wish.

I’m looking forward to the next one.