Garage Sale
Two blocks of Arch Street, 1400 and 1500, joined forces this Sunday to hold a marathon garage sale, dotting both sides of both blocks. The motive, beside shedding stuff, was to help neighbors meet neighbors. It worked - I met several new people. Doing it all at once seemed to attract more foot traffic, too. There's an archeological quality to garage sales, exposing layers of the past. They're also anthropologically interesting, as slices of material life come into view. The act of shedding reflects different impulses - from paring back to moving on. In the New Jersey town where I grew up, an annual church sale was the prompt. This two-block event had something of that spirit.
We had a great time with the multi family garage sale. The advertising and posting of posters was so successful that the participants didn't really have a chance to go and visit the other block. But we all enjoyed hanging on the sidewalk with our neighbors and we will definitely do this again!!
ReplyDeleteEmergency Preparedness Captain 1400 block of Arch St.
Kathleen
It was a great day! I'm sorry to not have met you, John, but thanks for this post! I love your blog...
ReplyDeleteAnnie at 1417
In fact, we talked, but I think you know Kathy better than me!
ReplyDeleteI think they have been doing that for like 20 years on that spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. I've lived on the next block since 1975, and this was the first two-block garage sale that I can remember. That doesn't mean there haven't been garage sales before in front that spot, of course. I used to live across from it, actually.
ReplyDeleteYea, you are right. I just hallucinated it from a dream/memory of my childhood. But it was of a different place.
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