TheBanyanTree: The Swap Meet

[JNorton]

Once a year, at the fairgrounds in the next county, there's a big swap
meet. It's like eBay in real time. You can find just about anything
you can think of there, from a 1915 Overland Touring Car to pirated
CDs. And there are also things you wouldn't think of, like a
chartreuse panther with chain in a crouching position that's also a
planter.

Sellers set up on Friday night or early Saturday morning. There's an
RV village that springs up next to the grounds and the nearby motels
are full. The meet covers the whole fairgrounds and is huge.

My friend Judy's husband restores old cars for fun and profit. He and
some of his buddies go to the swap meet to sell what they can't use or
don't want and to buy what they think they'll need. Judy goes up
Saturday afternoon in time to walk around then go to dinner. She
wanted me to go with her to keep her company as well as meet some of
the guys.

We went to the auto supply section, which also had other items mixed
in, like the aforementioned panther and an old 1940s refrigerator I'm
told still runs. Need springs for a 1934 Ford truck? Bumper for a 1954
Cadillac? How about manifolds, transmission housings, or maybe an
engine block? Door and window handles? Trim, logos, and fenders for
Hudson? This is the place to find these and other must-haves for the
car restorer.

One of the more interesting items wasn't for sale. I now know what to
do with the tub from my washing machine when the machine finally dies.
Take it out, weld it to some kind of metal frame or pedestal (perhaps
a broken axle and wheel rim). Voila! You now have a lovely patio
wood-burning fireplace!

There were cars for sale in various stages of restoration. Some were
done and ready to show. Others were rusted hulks with a few vital
parts like engines missing. Others were halfway done, with primer
paint but no finish. You figure someone either ran out of money or out
of patience for the job. Signs on the cars tell what engines and
transmissions are in them. Imagine a Ford Pinto with a V-8 or a Model
T with a 429.

Judy's husband, Tracy, walked around with us to look at some of the
cars for sale and comment on them. Tracy has sort of ZZ Tops beard and
had on some grease stained coveralls and his new cowboy hat. He turned
a few heads during our stroll! He knows a lot of the people there
because they come every year and they also buy stuff from each other
all the time.

You can tell the veteran shoppers. They come with either kids' wagons
or some other kind of wheeled carts to haul their booty back to their
vehicles. And you see bodies in the back of trucks and on trailers, as
well as truckloads of car innards. To Judy and me, most of the stuff
looks alike--rusted metal of various shapes, sizes, and heaviness. The
guys can look at something and tell you that it's from a 1932 Chevy
truck, etc. Judy and I can recognize some of the stuff, like engines
and transmissions, but there are lots of pipes, tubes, round things,
square things, and coiled things we are clueless about.

When everyone starts closing up for the night, they cover up their
wares and take the things they consider more valuable to their trucks.
I had this thought: what if someone came and took something of yours
they wanted and left you something in its place. Would anyone notice?
And how many of the sellers go buy stuff because it's priced right and
not because they need it?

We went to dinner at a very good Italian restaurant. The "guys" were
an interesting bunch and I enjoyed meeting them. One of them flew
radio-controlled aircraft, as well as restoring cars. Another drives a
truck, delivering for one of the institutional food wholesalers and
he's planning on retirement--he's going to manage an office for his
brother who's a lobbyist in Sacramento. Another brought his son, a fan
of the Ramones, complete with mohawk and safety pins. His stepmother
was also along, and she seemed to take the kid in stride.

Judy and I felt like the belles of the ball with all this male
attention. I even had my hand kissed at the end of the evening!

Jena