AND THE RAINS CAME

And did the rains come and come!

We are a little slow covering the Garage / Bake sale but much has happened since that event filled day. So here goes!

Things were going so well. The morning had been a little slow at first, however by mid-morning things really began to pick up. The hamburger / hot dog concession was drawing a few hungry customers and the bake goods were selling at a moderate rate. Items we thought would possibly never sell were being snatched up by happy purchasers. Yes, things were certainly humming along at this point.

 

There had been a forecast of a forty percent chance of showers late that afternoon but let’s look at it optimistically, there was a sixty percent chance nothing would happen.  It started to look a little dark off to the Southwest and anxious eyes kept glancing in that direction. Then our ever faithful Parish Council Vice-President with his weather app on his cell phone gave the unwanted warning.

BIG THUNDER STORM WITH HIGH WINDS IMMINENT!

And then the sudden burst of wind quickly followed a driving rain descended on our happy event. Customers scurried to their cars, Parish members hung on to the uprights of our  two 10 X 20 canopies while others braving the driving rain ran about moving items located outside under the protection of the canopies. Other items too large to be moved were ceremonially draped with whatever water proof covering we had at hand. At this point it did not look too good for our happy band.

At last it passed and as everyone stood around accessing the damage a buyer showed up. An individual from 35 miles away from the University community of Fayetteville, AR drove in inquiring if we had any bake goods for sale. It seems she had purchased items from the Parish in years past and had seen our notice in the Garage Sale section of the newspaper. A quick assessment was made of the remaining baked items and a bulk sale price was agreed on to the satisfaction of both parties. “Whew!”

As we prepared to go to our homes the last item was to drive ground pins into the bases of the canopies uprights as a safety measure. Now we felt secure that all was complete and following mass the next day we could make a determination of what items would be useful donations to the local Helping Hands ministry. How little did we know? Sunday morning found the canopies blown over on top of the contents with several bent upright legs. However this did not deter the parish from its goal. Items were separated and picked up Monday by the Brother’s & Sisters ministry truck with the reaming items to Helping Hands.  Later in the week the canopies with hardware were loosely stuffed into the front of the storage shed to be folded and stored when it is cooler.

The parish exceeded it goal in sales with plans already under way for another event to be held in October. These ladies of the parish seem to never stop. 

In our efforts we had several teenagers who are not members of the parish helping out. Imagine their surprise when each one received a Certificate of Appreciation for their help.

Keep tuned for the continuing saga of St George's Garage Sales.