The All Nighter

I was working the midnight shift this week, so while I was sitting around watching for bad guys, I told my co-worker Jeremy this story:

We used to own a vanity that looked nothing like the nice one pictured here. It was turquoise in color and had been drawn on by Emily with a permanent marker one time when she was bored. A picture of funny looking girls in black dresses, drawn the way a three year old draws, only somewhat better in perspective, as she has always been very artistic and observant(This last part was added by Emily after she read this).

One day, we arranged a yard sale with the Mendozas who lived across the street. We decided that we would sell the vanity. It was cheap, a really bad color (turquoise, did I mention that) and we wanted to make some space. So, Diane slapped a $25 tag on it and away it went.

At the sale, someone approached her, wanting to buy it for $10 dollars. The lady was kind of not so nicey, and told her she would have to refinish it, the mirror was cracked and she wold only pay $15 when Diane said no to $10. At this point, I was also talking with someone else about it, unbeknownst to Diane. So, the meany lady said, "Fine!", and doled out the $25, carting away the turquoise vanity.

Something we enjoy as a family is going to those antique mall sort of things. The kids can always find gadgetry, toys and junk, Diane can check out the cool old furnishings and items for home decor and I can look at the books or militaria or what have you. And, we could do our own version of Antiques Road Show and see what the prices were of items similar to ones we already own. We found an enormous antique mall in Sacramento that had rows and rows of stuff. It was good for a couple of hours at least. One day, a couple of months after the sale, we were dispersed throughout the mall when T.J. runs over and tells us about his latest discovery.

He was excited to have found a vanity just like the one we had recently sold at the yard sale, only it was white. The kicker was they were selling it for $225. So, we went over to look at it. It was an almost exact replica of the vanity we had sold except that it was, as I mentioned, white. The white was kind of poorly done, with a greenish blue sort of sheen underneath. It looked like it needed refinished, but was instead merely painted white over a stronger under color.

Upon closer inspection, we discovered that this vanity didn't have a mirror, but it did have a picture of funny looking girls in black dresses, drawn the way a three year old draws, only somewhat better in perspective.

Diane was furious when she discovered this, wanting to scratch a message into the surface, letting everyone know it wasn't worth $225. I suggested we just write a note explaining the situation and sticking it in the drawer. I think the final outcome was that we left a little less trusting, a little wiser and with what I think is a darn good story that still makes Diane mad from time to time...like when I mentioned it to her tonight.