A Romp WIth the Red Necks

Laugh if you want to, but this style is making a comeback.

I love Saturdays.  You know you love a day when you think during the rest of the week, "Man, I can't wait for Saturday."  Most people love Saturdays because for them it's the weekend.  Two glorious days off from work to just lounge around the house, maybe get some chores done or go to the store.  Soon we will have football to capture our attention and to help make American productivity decrease by 20%.  But for me, Saturday is just another work day...but with a little bit of a bonus.  The Newport Flea Market is open.  That's right, rain or shine, hell or high water, the red neck swap meet will always be jumpin.

I like to go mostly to just walk around and watch people.  That sounds a little odd...let me clarify.  I don't post up and stare people down in the dark corners with cammo pants and a black hoodie on.  It's just the atmosphere...it is a mingling of all sorts of different people from different backgrounds and it's just cool how something as simple as the flea market brings them all together.  Sometimes you can find a decent DVD for a dollar or get a good deal on some used paperback books (currently six for $5...I mean, how can you pass that up?).  There are a lot of people there just trying to sell some junk, and I can't blame them.  I've met some very nice people who make their own stuff, such as candles, hair bows, hand bags, lamps and the like, and they go to the flea mall to meet people, make connections and sell their crafts.  In fact, in a previous post, I bought some really cute hair bows for Oinkers from a lady who hand makes them.  Well, I saw her today and she remembered me and asked how my niece liked the bows.  It was really cool that she made that connection.

The goods...minus the Ninja Turtle cookies.

Today, I was bested by another bake sale.  A church group was raising money to send their youth to summer camp in Falcon, NC.  Summer camp holds a strong space in my heart and I know how life changing that experience can be.  That sounds really mushy and all, but the real reason was that they had Ninja Turtle cookies.  I ate them before I could take a picture...they were decadent.  They were up until 2 a.m. this morning baking and wrapping their baked goods and then were at the flea market at 6:45 to set up shop.  That's dedication.  The woman I talked to will be going with the kids as a counselor, and I told her that she will have a blast.  I got $5 worth of snacks and left them a $20.  I think I've talked before about giving my money to a good cause instead of letting someone at a church office decide what to do with my gift to God.  This was definitely worth it.

I was suppose to go over to Amber's this afternoon to sell her couch but Oinkers crashed and she ended up staying home.  That saves me a trip to Havelock and frees up the rest of my afternoon before I go into work at 5:00.