Meet the Swappers

We never did make it down to Honolulu to walk through the swap meet. But today I witnessed a display of capitalist carnage no less fearsome, if on a smaller scale.

Since TVA is such a transient community, we have our own little swap meet every Saturday on the side road that runs past the university. Kaddi gathered up almost everything we'd purchased while here in Hawaii (except our vacuum and television, both too precious to part with just yet), and I loaded them into the car for everal trips out to swap-meet road.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical. After all, who sells their second-hand items by the roadside? Who buys items that way? This isn't Thailand.

As it turns out...it IS Thailand. We arrived at about 9 AM and almost all the prime real estate was already taken. There were tables and shelves set up. People selling DVD's, CD's, bikes, shelves, furniture, rice-cookers, books, Christmas trees, dishware, toys, and everything else.

And these sellers can be competitive. We almost got into it ("Are we doing this?") with the Vietnamese lady stationed next to us after she kept tipping over a bike she felt was positioned too close to her blanket display.

Merchandise moves fast. By the time I arrived with the second carload of goods, Kaddi had sold most of the first load. By the time I took the above photo, several moms had already purchased the household items (and their kids had broken the toys).

Kaddi's such a trooper she's decided to stay there until everything sells. I volunteered to come home so that Luke could take a nap.

I need a bath