Beware the Ides of August - Winsome Wisdom by Steve Chappell
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It all began in August of 1987 without warning or fanfare. Suddenly, there they were with their tents, tables, RVs and trailers loaded down with dishes, jewelry, tools, furniture, arts and crafts, and stuff I didn’t even recognize. Hour after hour they kept appearing in flights like invaders from another galaxy.
On that fateful Saturday morning in 1987, your humble correspondent backed out of the garage and merged onto Signal Mountain Boulevard en route to the nearby grocery store in search of a carton of orange juice and a bag of ice, completely unaware of the turmoil that awaited. From the house to Pruett’s Signal Mountain Market is exactly 2.7 miles. By the time I made it home 56 minutes later, the ice was in early stages of becoming a bag of water.
The delay was the result of what is now billed as the World’s Longest Yard Sale or 127 Yard Sale. If during those days your travels included US Highway 127 at most any point between Gadsden, Alabama and Addison, Michigan, you likely found yourself prisoner of the world’s longest traffic jam, especially if you weren’t a bargain hunter. Your hunt might have been merely for a gallon of milk, or a bag of ice, in which case a quick trip to the store that would normally have taken ten minutes dragged on for an hour.
Fast forward 28 years and they were back again... a record number of pickers, drifters, and bargain seekers from all corners of America. August 6-9 was the official 2015 version along US Highway 127. If Julius Caesar thought his Ides of March encounter was traumatic, perhaps a confrontation in mid-August with miles of stop-and-inch-forward traffic combined with a hoard of pushy flatlanders would have been a welcome option over the knives of Brutus, Cassius, and most of the rest of the Roman Senate.
But despite the traffic, there were bargains to be found! Oh, yes... there was lots of junk! But if you ventured into the subdivisions just off 127, there were bargains galore. I found a stylish casual leather jacket for $5. That is not a misprint! Five dollars! The same jacket at Belk’s would be over $200. I also came across a Peavey Stereo Chorus 70 guitar amp in excellent condition for $30. At the Guitar Center, a similar amp would sell for at least $150.
If for you the positive of bargains outweighs the negative of crowds and traffic jams, be advised that next year’s 127 Yard Sale is scheduled for August 4-6, 2016. Bring two things: cash and patience. I’ll be there once again looking for a Gibson Les Paul or mandolin.
And in summation of this year’s experience, allow me a bit of literary license as I paraphrase Julius Caesar’s infamous veni, vidi, vici announcement in a letter to the Roman Senate regarding his triumphant campaign over Pharnaces II at Zile, in present-day Turkey:
Veni, vedi, emi, profectus sum.
I came, I saw, I bought, I left.
On that fateful Saturday morning in 1987, your humble correspondent backed out of the garage and merged onto Signal Mountain Boulevard en route to the nearby grocery store in search of a carton of orange juice and a bag of ice, completely unaware of the turmoil that awaited. From the house to Pruett’s Signal Mountain Market is exactly 2.7 miles. By the time I made it home 56 minutes later, the ice was in early stages of becoming a bag of water.
The delay was the result of what is now billed as the World’s Longest Yard Sale or 127 Yard Sale. If during those days your travels included US Highway 127 at most any point between Gadsden, Alabama and Addison, Michigan, you likely found yourself prisoner of the world’s longest traffic jam, especially if you weren’t a bargain hunter. Your hunt might have been merely for a gallon of milk, or a bag of ice, in which case a quick trip to the store that would normally have taken ten minutes dragged on for an hour.
Fast forward 28 years and they were back again... a record number of pickers, drifters, and bargain seekers from all corners of America. August 6-9 was the official 2015 version along US Highway 127. If Julius Caesar thought his Ides of March encounter was traumatic, perhaps a confrontation in mid-August with miles of stop-and-inch-forward traffic combined with a hoard of pushy flatlanders would have been a welcome option over the knives of Brutus, Cassius, and most of the rest of the Roman Senate.
But despite the traffic, there were bargains to be found! Oh, yes... there was lots of junk! But if you ventured into the subdivisions just off 127, there were bargains galore. I found a stylish casual leather jacket for $5. That is not a misprint! Five dollars! The same jacket at Belk’s would be over $200. I also came across a Peavey Stereo Chorus 70 guitar amp in excellent condition for $30. At the Guitar Center, a similar amp would sell for at least $150.
If for you the positive of bargains outweighs the negative of crowds and traffic jams, be advised that next year’s 127 Yard Sale is scheduled for August 4-6, 2016. Bring two things: cash and patience. I’ll be there once again looking for a Gibson Les Paul or mandolin.
And in summation of this year’s experience, allow me a bit of literary license as I paraphrase Julius Caesar’s infamous veni, vidi, vici announcement in a letter to the Roman Senate regarding his triumphant campaign over Pharnaces II at Zile, in present-day Turkey:
Veni, vedi, emi, profectus sum.
I came, I saw, I bought, I left.
