I like meandering by little neighborhoods, especially during the summer. Several times some of the houses, or indeed the entire neighborhood, will drag an enormous amount of unwanted knick-knacks or flat-out junk, semi-organize it with some coherency, and stick up signs that proclaim a SALE of some kind.

t’s the advertisment signs that really get me. I’ll see a hand-done sign, usually on blinding neon paper with obnoxiously huge black lettering, practically screaming at me, YARD SALE. I usually shake my head, smiling, and say to myself, “I already have a yard, though. It’s quite nice, too.”

A few blocks down there’s one for a GARAGE SALE. I shrug. “I can’t see anything wrong with my garage now, why do I need a new one?”

GIANT SALE ‘s? "I don’t think I have any room for a giant, even if it is nice."

But my favorite are the ones declaring GIANT GARAGE SALE. I have to laugh aloud. “I can’t find anything in my tiny garage, what makes you think I’d be able to in a huge one?”