Johnnywiffer
06-01-2010, 11:56 PM
‘Twas “only” 76 f. this AM as I left the No-smell Motel on my sojourn to the show. Less traffic on the streets than I might have imagined for this 1st day after Memorial Day. I noticed that in spite of the oil spill in the Gulf, gas prices had gone down overnite. Many stations at 2.63 and 1 at 2.61 on Glendale & 59th , tho some all the way from 2.69-2.89.
The inside swap meet didn’t open until 8 tho I arrived about 7:20. Went in and sat down in a soft chair in the giant hallway. Almost went to sleep but was soon joined by other vendors. We chatted up the previous day’s happenings until a few minutes before 8. The constabulary arrived to open the doors to the Swap Meet and we were in Biz!
I was gonna go check out the vendors outside but my friend Barry from Houston, the guy behind me with all the GOOD stuff said that Tuesday was the day “IT” was either gonna happen or not. And IF “IT” happened, I didn’t wanna miss “IT” so I stayed inside. After about an hour of “IT’ not happening, I decided that the only “IT” I was gonna miss was Barry buying all the good stuff. So I went outside. Immediately saw this sign:
510
At least these guys were realistic. Heck, the water didn’t care but if you could only afford a Scotsman, logically, you should pay less and if you can afford a Prez, you OUGHTA pay more. I guess if you had an Avanti, it could stay dirty or you could wash it yourself.
I ambled down the row of vendors. The temp was beginning to rise, so I stopped ambling and began to hurry down the row. I found a relatively unique ’51-’52 V-8 trunk emblem, gold/chrome. (Most are chrome only.) The elderly lady selling it said everything was marked but this one wasn’t. I had seen these selling in the $10 range but she said “Oh… how about $5?”. Ever the cagey Yankee Trader, I said, “Oh…How a bout 3?” She said….”Oooooh---OK.” I forked over the moola.
I then spied a couple of “Land Cruiser” names, either one of which would look just peachy on a grille bar of my ’54. I held ‘em up. “And these?”
“Oooooh, aren’t they marked either?”
“Nope.”
“Oooooh…how about $10 each?”
“Wow! Hey, I’m POOR!..How about $10 for BOTH?”
“Ooooh—OK. That’s $10 more, please.” As W.C Fields might have said, I coughed up the “elusive Spondulicks”.
Then she said “ I remember you now. We were next to you in some show—you‘re the stripper guy right?”
“Guilty!”
“Yeah, you’re that fast-talking salesman. Oh yeah, I remember YOU!” I was almost afraid she’d make me pay more for the parts, so I smiled my Elmer Gantry smile and went on down the row.
Tho there were literally TONS of stuff for sale, I found nothing more I couldn’t live without, so I hot-footed it into the hotel lobby. I say “hot-footed” because MY FEET WERE HOT!! There is something that walking slowly on blacktop does to your feet. It’s the test of whether you REALLY want to continue, maybefind that “necessity” or cool down in the lobby. I bought lunch, took it back to my table, ate and went back to work.
=========================================
Later in the day, I grabbed my cam and went out to the parking lot where the concourse will take place. Maaaaany nice cars there now. I took 58 pix before my batteries ran down. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get 'em on here. Tomorrow? We'll see.
The drive back to the motel was uneventful unless you count the '97 F. temp. I've begun to wonder: at what temp does your brain commence meltdown? And does the leak around my ears mean anything? :D
John
The inside swap meet didn’t open until 8 tho I arrived about 7:20. Went in and sat down in a soft chair in the giant hallway. Almost went to sleep but was soon joined by other vendors. We chatted up the previous day’s happenings until a few minutes before 8. The constabulary arrived to open the doors to the Swap Meet and we were in Biz!
I was gonna go check out the vendors outside but my friend Barry from Houston, the guy behind me with all the GOOD stuff said that Tuesday was the day “IT” was either gonna happen or not. And IF “IT” happened, I didn’t wanna miss “IT” so I stayed inside. After about an hour of “IT’ not happening, I decided that the only “IT” I was gonna miss was Barry buying all the good stuff. So I went outside. Immediately saw this sign:
510
At least these guys were realistic. Heck, the water didn’t care but if you could only afford a Scotsman, logically, you should pay less and if you can afford a Prez, you OUGHTA pay more. I guess if you had an Avanti, it could stay dirty or you could wash it yourself.
I ambled down the row of vendors. The temp was beginning to rise, so I stopped ambling and began to hurry down the row. I found a relatively unique ’51-’52 V-8 trunk emblem, gold/chrome. (Most are chrome only.) The elderly lady selling it said everything was marked but this one wasn’t. I had seen these selling in the $10 range but she said “Oh… how about $5?”. Ever the cagey Yankee Trader, I said, “Oh…How a bout 3?” She said….”Oooooh---OK.” I forked over the moola.
I then spied a couple of “Land Cruiser” names, either one of which would look just peachy on a grille bar of my ’54. I held ‘em up. “And these?”
“Oooooh, aren’t they marked either?”
“Nope.”
“Oooooh…how about $10 each?”
“Wow! Hey, I’m POOR!..How about $10 for BOTH?”
“Ooooh—OK. That’s $10 more, please.” As W.C Fields might have said, I coughed up the “elusive Spondulicks”.
Then she said “ I remember you now. We were next to you in some show—you‘re the stripper guy right?”
“Guilty!”
“Yeah, you’re that fast-talking salesman. Oh yeah, I remember YOU!” I was almost afraid she’d make me pay more for the parts, so I smiled my Elmer Gantry smile and went on down the row.
Tho there were literally TONS of stuff for sale, I found nothing more I couldn’t live without, so I hot-footed it into the hotel lobby. I say “hot-footed” because MY FEET WERE HOT!! There is something that walking slowly on blacktop does to your feet. It’s the test of whether you REALLY want to continue, maybefind that “necessity” or cool down in the lobby. I bought lunch, took it back to my table, ate and went back to work.
=========================================
Later in the day, I grabbed my cam and went out to the parking lot where the concourse will take place. Maaaaany nice cars there now. I took 58 pix before my batteries ran down. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get 'em on here. Tomorrow? We'll see.
The drive back to the motel was uneventful unless you count the '97 F. temp. I've begun to wonder: at what temp does your brain commence meltdown? And does the leak around my ears mean anything? :D
John