The Garage Sale A Mac Tale

The Garage Sale

My wife loves Garage Sales. Or Yard Sales. Or Estate Sales. They are all pretty much the same thing. She loves it. Me, not so much. Sure, at times it can be fun, but it is not so much a guy thing.

So today, Saturday, June 25, 2005, Julie and I were out and about. We had stopped by a couple of both garage and yard sales, and were just about done when I spotted the telltale red and white sign that, at least here in West Michigan, means ‘Garage Sale’ with a hand-drawn arrow, or sometimes the actual address, written on the sign.

From about a half-block away, my interest in this particular one was roused. ‘I see Macs!’ I tell Julie, pulling to the curb in front of the house in a nice neighborhood. Sure enough, I can see at least three beige all-in-one Macs sitting on a table.

After inspecting the machines, two Mac Plus’s and a Classic, I check the price. One is $3, one $2, and one free. FREE! Two of the machines were actually running, while the other is not. They all look to be in great physical condition, clean and well maintained.

The owner comes over and starts to explain what they are to me, but I interrupt him to let him know I know all about Macs. He is a Mac guy, and I liked him immediately. He said it was nice to be able to talk about the machines without having to wonder if the other person knows what a SCSI hard drive is.

I tell him right off the bat I will take all three machines. Hey, what’s five bucks for three classic Macs? I am already seeing a Macquarium taking shape in my mind. I also buy some floppies, a complete Mac OS 7.0 System Disk set, and an older Norton Utilities on Floppy. Total is $7.00, but I give him $10 and tell him to keep the change.

What’s more, he tells me he is the Band Director at the same school my daughter goes to. And to prove that the world is indeed a small place sometimes, he is one of my daughters’ teachers. I gave him the URL to this site, perhaps he will stop by! If so, Hi Jerry!

Here is a picture of my bounty today.