Garage sale tomorrow

When I was in high school, my neighbor's father, a doctor, told me about how the ambulance had brought in a person who had been in a car crash where they had gone off the Dumbarton Bridge into the San Francisco Bay tidal flats. Since the person was covered in mud, the EMTs were asked to hose the patient off on the front lawn before bringing him in to the ER, as the docs couldn't work on the injuries without first removing the mud.

This memory has been in my mind as the preparations have been ongoing for a yard sale tomorrow; some of the Dominicans, Anita (V-for victory), Bonnie, and Lorette have been a great help dragging stuff out, sorting, and arranging, and yet I have the sense that we've only scraped off the top layer, no real surgery has been done yet. I recognized that in large part that is because I've leased the house furnished, but it still looms as a task not yet fully engaged.

Here's a picture of how things look at this point; it almost doesn't do justice to the magnitude of "stuff."



It's interesting that probably 90+% of what is in this picture is from mother-in-law, wife, (both deceased) and daughter (off to college). There is some sentimental attachment in some of the things, but not much; very easy to let it go. Yet my stuff, that's been a different story; Catholic books (1 full Anita car-load) went to the Dominican Chapter House, and vintage motorcycles (2 plus full pickup load of boxed parts) went to son-in-law's house. I suppose it was as easy to let it go, just the destination was, well, not really let go.

there remains some serious surgery to do; not the least of which is the house of my last 22 years where my children were born and raised.

Interestingly, the reading in Divine Intimacy is about "Simplicity" - but not as the world sees it (ie: "getting rid of stuff," but in the biblical sense "let your yes be yes and your no be no," "an Israelite in whom there is no guile")

PS: funds raised by this yard sale will be split between my daughter and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training marathon being run by Ingrid Sather, an old friend who is running in memory of Gwen (well, it's their stuff!). The destination of the unsold items will be yard sale being held as a fund raiser for the Mike Lee family by the Friends of Mike Lee. that is, if I haven't already missed it. (MIKE!? help!)

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Here's what it looked like when I made it back from putting the YARD SALE sign on the street corner. I put up the sign and it was as if invisible traffic control officers were diverting traffic onto my street, even while I was putting it up!



Sold almost $300 in mostly $1 and $2 lot sales, moved a lot of stuff and took a very full trailer load to Meridian for the Lee sale. Glad this task is done!