These Ones Are for Sale

Sunday afternoon was lovely. The weather was balmy, topping the charts at a whopping 79 degrees, and we were exhilarated, having made it through the weekend unscathed. We had a couple of single friends over for coffee in the morning and, in the afternoon, my Father called to suggest that Deanna set up her little stand in the front yard and try to sell pecans.

Deanna loves this. She takes the children's picnic table around to the front and puts it on the sidewalk, I give her a money box with some change, and we both set out bags of pecans. The last time she attempted this, she needed a sign. Dane and Daelyn love to stand on the top of the picnic table and yell, "Pecans for sale," at all passing motorists. I took a large Sharpie and some cardboard outside and held the sign for her, writing on it between cars, until I finally had it finished. Although shaped a little roughly, it clearly says, "$1.25/lb. Pecans $1.25/lb."

So, Sunday, we gathered our sign, our boys, our money box, our bags of pecans, and the picnic table, and Deanna set up shop. I don't like to leave the children in the front yard alone, so I went inside to get some pecans of my own to crack and shell, planning on sitting on the park bench we have in the front yard. While in the house, I heard a commotion outside. I ran to the front door, which I had left open, and looked out. A man in an SUV had stopped in the street and was talking with the children. I ran towards them, fear in my throat.

As I neared the SUV, I could see that it was full of children. When I say full, I mean FULL!! There must have been at least six kids crammed in it, in addition to the male driver. I reached the children's stand, and began assessing the situation. The driver saw me approach on the run and laughingly explained what was happening.

Apparently, he had pulled up and, jokingly, started offering money to the children in exchange for their sign. Deanna would have no part of this. She was highly offended at the thought of selling her sign. She knew, of course, that without her sign, there would be NO future sales. Dane, on the other hand, would sell his right arm to the highest bidder. He was passing the sign through the front passenger's window in exchange for $2.00 when I arrived on the scene. The man thought this whole situation was hilarious. The children in the back seat looked nervous. The two dollars had been donated, unwillingly, by a little girl in the back seat.

Deanna's protests finally won out and Dane handed back his hard-earned two dollars and re-collected his sign. The man insisted that the little girl give the $2.00 back since Dane was such a good sport. I passed a 1 lb. bag of pecans through the window to him. We all laughed, thanked each other, and they drove off, since a line of cars had piled up behind them.

Deanna still doesn't find this very funny - she and Dane have very different approaches to commerce. Deanna is always looking for the next sale, Dane will do whatever's necessary to make this one.

Variety - the spice of life. That, and pecans.