I went out to the Kane County flea market today for the first time. I grew up 20 minutes away, but never made it over there. It was an incredible combination of trash and treasure. My friend Rick had a booth set up, so I stopped by and hung out with him for a while. I even bought a couple things from him. A guy in an adjacent booth had an old xylophone, and every so often someone would run the mallet up the length of it. The sound was exactly like the Antiques Roadshow sound when the appraisal price comes onto the screen. It was as if he was finding out every ten minutes that his xylophone was only worth the $45 at which he had priced it.

This bedpan caught my eye for a potential photo op, and the label of "ASSTRAY" made it an easy frontrunner for the daily entry. I learned a new word, and am looking forward to finding out whether or not this is official nursing lingo, or just creative labeling. The woman selling it also had a stack of metal signs that said "CAN'T TOUCH THIS!" with an American flag, a screaming eagle, and a fighter jet. They were incredible, but in my opinion overpriced at $5, so I tried to negotiate.

Me: How much could you come down on the price if I bought more than one?
Vendor: Well, I already reduced them from 8 dollars and put them on the 5 dollar table. I really can't take any more of a loss on them.
Me: Really? Who besides me has offered to buy one?
Vendor: Nobody today, but I sold one for 19 dollars at a monster truck show.
Me: Fair enough. Maybe I'll be back later.

I did not go back, something I may regret for the rest of my days.