American uber-capitalism and the garage sale
This past weekend, I read the story "Craphound," by Cory Doctorow, and long story short, it made me want to go to garage sales. I actually quite like going to them, but we aren't "yard-salers," and really almost never go. Anyhow, I looked them up, and we went to several on Sunday (which would NOT happen in North Carolina. You just don't hold them on Sundays.) I got some really awesome stuff, nearly all kitchen stuff, for almost nothing. It was very exciting.
So today, I was thinking about some thing I would like to have for the kitchen, and I thought, "Hopefully I can find one at a yard sale." Then it hit me, why I like them, and maybe why other people do too. These days, when I want something, more often than not, I order it online. I don't bother trying to figure out where I should look and then going to the trouble of looking. I can go on Amazon and order at least 65% of the things I would look for online in minutes. So having something I've been wanting in mind, and finding it completely unexpectedly, gives a feeling we never get anymore. It's that, Oh, I've been wanting one of those! feelings, made more fun by the fact that if you're finding it at a yard sale, you can actually afford to buy it!
So if I could just have a stand mixer for $5, please, that would be super.
So today, I was thinking about some thing I would like to have for the kitchen, and I thought, "Hopefully I can find one at a yard sale." Then it hit me, why I like them, and maybe why other people do too. These days, when I want something, more often than not, I order it online. I don't bother trying to figure out where I should look and then going to the trouble of looking. I can go on Amazon and order at least 65% of the things I would look for online in minutes. So having something I've been wanting in mind, and finding it completely unexpectedly, gives a feeling we never get anymore. It's that, Oh, I've been wanting one of those! feelings, made more fun by the fact that if you're finding it at a yard sale, you can actually afford to buy it!
So if I could just have a stand mixer for $5, please, that would be super.