I used to hate auctions.  Household or farm auctions, that is.  To me they seem so pointless.  You never know when the item you are interested in will sell, so you stand around for hours when you could be doing something more beneficial. 

Finally, they get to the item you are interested in.  Your heart rate immediately spikes to, say, 165 bpm , and you start shaking all over.  You don’t want to look like a fool, but what to do?  The auctioneer doesn’t see your hand, so you start doing a dance routine that has those nearby giving you a sideways look whilst taking sideways steps away from you.

And then the item sells for twice what it would new, and you either got royally hosed since you bought it and those who once stood nearby now chuckle at you, or you walk away to your vehicle empty handed and heart full of bitterness and those who once stood nearby now stare in disdain at the spot you once occupied.

I still don’t like auctions.  Household or farm auctions, that is.

But I digress.  Auctions aren’t really what I had in mind when I got started with this, however, it was an auction that got me into the mess I’m about to describe.

There were some cattle panels at a farm auction that I felt like we needed.  So, I hooked up my small trailer, took the end gate off, since the trailer was too short to haul a full-length panel on, and got on my way to the event. 

On the way to the event, I had another event.

I stopped at the local parts store to pick up some items.  I waited at the counter, as another customer and his son were waited on.  It didn’t take long for me to get the feeling something was up.  Mostly because this was taking an awfully long time.  And then I saw what was taking so long. 

The man would tell the parts person one thing at a time instead of giving him a list to work on.  And it was only after I saw the thing happen that I realized my peripheral vision had seen it happen several times earlier. 

I saw the man give an order for the parts man to get, and as soon as the parts man left to get it, the man scanned the counter with its promotional items, picked up a pliers on display, and dropped it in the sack already containing some the parts the parts man had gotten for him. 

I was so incredulous, I simply stared, dumbfounded, at the man. 

His cool, light blue eyes spoke a very clear message, “You say something about this, and I’ll make sure you don’t speak at all for the next few days.”

He eventually left, although after my visual confrontation with him, he didn’t get any more five finger discounts.  I got the parts I needed and thoughtfully climbed into my truck.  So thoughtfully, in fact, that I didn’t see the fellow with the light blue eyes sitting in his truck right beside me.

And so thoughtfully, in fact, that when I backed up to leave the place, I forgot I had a trailer behind me.

But I became conscious of that fact when the trailer behind me rounded a turn, which my truck didn’t happen to be rounding, and arrested all reverse motion by cramming itself into the side of my truck bed. 

I was totally amazed and awestruck at my stupidity. 

The man with the light blue eyes laughed uproariously as I drove forward and came even with him to straighten out.

I backed my dented pride and bashed in truck straight this time and got out of there.

And the panels went way too high at the auction; even though I never placed a bid, that auction cost me greatly.