How I want to spend my retirement

This weekend, Kaye, Charlotte and I visited a few rummage sales. Yea...we go to rummage sales. Once again, don't judge me!! WE visited one a few blocks from our house. While we were there, a older gentleman was letting us all know about the deals we could get. In fairly deep and loud but monotone voice he would say, "Here's a star shaped basket for only 25 cents!" Or, "Here's ten or twelve afghans for five dollars! These would make great Christmas gifts!" At first, I thought, "Enough already. It's a rummage sale. I don't need the hard sell." However, as time went by [maybe 2 minutes], I slowly realized that this wasn't his rummage sale. He was a mere customer, just like us. It was at that point where his antics became funny to me. He didn't stop. "Here's a TV for five dollars! And it works!".

Luckily, there was another sale two doors down. Kaye and decided to check it out. Just as we were getting ready to leave, the same gentleman was walking his bike up to the second rummage sale. We watched him walking up to the driveway, already letting everyone know about the table that was available. There were people leaving who stopped because they thought he was talking to them. It was at this point, that it became downright hilarious to me.

We moved onto a third sale several blocks away where Kaye knew the owners. Just as we were about to leave, I spotted an older gentleman approaching on his bike. In my head I'm thinking, "Please let it be him. Please let it be him" The comedy gods were smiling down upon me this day. I turned to Kaye and said, "Kaye, it's him." Please understand, that while Kaye does tolerate my sense of humor, she doesn't always agree. Sometimes, it becomes necessary for her to explain or translate to friends and family why I'm laughing. So, she began to explain to the owners of the house why I was so excited. To which, they replied, "Oh, Mr. Anderson" [names changed to protect the comical]. They knew the guy. Unfortunately, I didn't stick around to learn more.

Fast forward to today. One of my coworkers frequents rummage sales more than I do. Occasionally, we discuss our experiences. Yes, we're that boring. Of course, I started telling her this story. She immediately asked, "Was he riding a bike?...Oh, that's Dave Hanson." Apparently, he's a retired guy who does this because he thinks it's funny. He's in on the joke. It was at this point that his antics became comic gold. To me, it's even funnier now that I've learned that he's doing it on purpose...because he thinks its funny. She confirmed that, while he may be a little eclectic, he's certainly not the nutty old man I thought he was. Come to find out, he's a comic genius.

That, my friends, is how I want to spend my retirement.