Giving Everything Away Sale WC 290

The 'Giving Everything Away' Sale

I’m having a ‘giving everything away sale’

I’m moving in with my daughter. I’ll have a bedroom and the use of a corner of the basement.

I don’t need the money, so I’ve decided to give everything away and let people enjoy the keepsakes I have enjoyed for years. A sign at the front of the main table reads, “Yours for the Taking. Enjoy.”

My first customer of the day approaches me. The gentleman looks to be about sixty. He’s holding the German vase I inherited from my grandmother years ago. I love it, but I’ve made this deal with myself to give everything away. The man might give the vase a good home.

"How much does it cost? It doesn’t have a tag.”

“Well, sir, the thing is__”

“I really want it,” he interrupts. “I know what these things are worth, so don’t try to hard me a crock of malarkey!”

Malarkey? Who says malarkey anymore? Maybe he’s closer to my age than I thought…

I also know the value of the vase. It’s priceless. My grandparents came to America from Germany in the 1930s with the clothes on their backs, and a select few sentimental treasures.

“I’ll give you five hundred dollars. Not a penny more,” he says.

The vase can have a home on my dresser in Tennessee. And then I can leave it to my daughter; she can decide what to do with it after I’m gone.

“It’s not for sale.”

“Then why is it on the table?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.” I say as I take the vase from him. “Old age.”

He stomps off. I place the vase out of harm’s way and go back to my ‘giving everything away sale’.