Thursday, March 22, 2018

Till the Cows Come Home

Hick was supposed to be selling at his Storage Unit Store on Sunday. I say supposed to, not because it's some requirement put forth by law or by word of Val...but because that's where Hick said he would be. He generally stays open until 1:00 or 2:00, when the crowd dwindles.

Saturday is of course the best day for selling, with Sunday usually a close second, and the first Friday of the month a respectable third. This past Sunday was cold and dreary, so I was surprised that Hick stayed so long. We are only 10 minutes away from that location, so sometimes he calls it quits early, and comes home to do nothing here, rather than there.

At 12:20, I got a text.


"Bought a tiller. $40."

"Just what we need."

Silly me. I thought Hick was thinking about planting a garden again. You know, since he has all day, every day, to find something to do. We had a garden many years ago, with tomatoes and corn and watermelons and carrots and pumpkins and radishes. Sadly, the deer ate our watermelons and corn, and rabbits ate a lot of whatever was just sprouting, and the tomato hornworms grew fat and and sassy off our untreated tomatoes. Anyhoo...we enjoyed having the garden, if for nothing else than cursing the worthless cats and dogs who laid along the edge, WATCHING those critters fill their gullets with the sweat of our brows.

Anyhoo...back then, Hick had borrowed my grandma's tiller to get the garden plot ready. I thought that maybe he was feeling all green-thumby again. Hick is good with plants. Me, not so much. It soon dawned on me that Hick wasn't buying that tiller for personal use.

"I'll clean it up and make sure it runs. It oughta bring $150, easy. The guy has a unit close to mine. He wanted $50 for it, but I told him I could only go $40."

I'm not really sure Hick started his Storage Unit Store for selling purposes. He would buy junk until the junk-buying curfew siren sounded. Not that there IS such a thing. But it would be pretty cool if there was. Because then Hick would know when to quit.

10 comments:

  1. Or he could be home with his two thumbs jammed in his pants, feet up watching TV, drinking beer and belching.

    Hmmm, Mrs. C will still be away this weekend, I know what I'll be doing.

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    1. Did I mention that I'm REALLY glad Hick has his Storage Unit Store?

      I hope you're not trying to run the humidifier while Mrs. C is gone, or scrubbing knives with her vegetable brush. And whatever you do, don't pour out any water that's sitting around with a paper towel over it.

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    2. I be sipping dirty water cocktails.

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  2. If he's going to sell that thing at his store he'd better be sure his neighbor isn't there that day. He might be more than a little ticked off at the price markup.

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    1. I interrogated Hick on this selling tactic, and he said his neighbor won't care. "He's like that. Always needing money RIGHT NOW. So he took what I offered him."

      Besides, Hick says the tiller isn't running yet. But if there's anything Hick knows how to do, it's fix a machine. That's what got him sent all over the world by his boss.

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  3. It's a nice looking tiller and probably runs well. Doesn't look at all decrepit. To make a garden these days you need to start with an eight or ten foot high electrified fence, then stretch a wire netting roof over the whole thing, then put in a door if you didn't already, so you can get in and out of it. Set up an automatic watering system, till the soil, plant your seeds or seedlings, lock the gate and switch on the power to the fence.
    When the deer and rabbits fry themselves trying to get in, there's your winter meat right there!

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    1. I imagine it will run well after Hick tinkers with it. He and Genius have a knack for fixing things. The Pony and I might as well throw the item away and buy a new one.

      That gardening RIGHT advice makes me think that driving 5 miles to town to Save A Lot is really more feasible.

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  4. Val--That tiller DOES look like a great one. Perhaps there's some method to Hick's madness?

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    1. Not any more! Hick sold that tiller Saturday morning, for $60! Right under the nose of the guy who sold it to him for $40.

      Hick said he hadn't had time to bring it home yet for fixing, and he figured he might as well turn it over and make room for more merchandise.

      I hope Hick smartens up and stops GIVING AWAY his junk! That would have been a tidy profit if it worked. The guy who bought it has his own store, and I'm sure he'll make a killing with his tiller

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