Old Things Considered

. . .so about that yard sale.

But first, history class is in session. The Historic National Road runs from Baltimore to St. Louis (well, technically, to this side of the Mississippi River), and most of the highway is designated as U.S. Route 40. Around here, the road is known as Maryland Route 144, or Frederick Road. Sometimes, in Catonsville, it’s just called “the Avenue.”

Anyway, there has been a plan afoot since 2003 to connect the eastern half of the country with one big yard sale. To that end, our fellow yard salers, primarily in Ohio and Indiana, will be chasing down good buys along part of that road from June 1 to 5, dawn to dusk. Don’t panic: we’re not quite that ambitious.

A few months ago, at a board meeting of the Catonsville Historical Society (which, by the way, is located on the National Road), I suggested we try one more time to get in on the fun. Fortunately, I was sitting next to my chum Sharon Stanton, and before I knew it, plans were afoot.

Needing an inroad with the business community, we enlisted Reggie Sajauskas of “Objects Found” fame. Over several glasses of wine (thanks to my personal sommelier, Ken), the newly formed Triumvirate tackled the project of a yard sale from the city line, which is near the National Cemetery, to the mighty Patapsco River. We decided that Saturday, June 4, was certain to be a most beautiful day for a yard sale, and we deemed 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. probably long enough for most of us.

And so here we are, less than a month out. A number of churches fronting the old highway are planning sales, and many will be donating some of their proceeds to the Catonsville Emergency Food Ministry, our charity of choice.

If you happen to attend one of these houses of worship and have not yet heard anything, it’s not too late to organize something. I am a member of Salem Lutheran, and we’re renting out booth spaces for $15 to benefit CEFM. This really doesn’t take a lot of planning, just a few signs and someone willing to act as treasurer, so think about it if your congregation isn’t in on this yet.

But I digress.

There will be spaces at the Historical Society for a number of hearty entrepreneurs, and information on how to set up there can be found at catonsvillehistoricalsociety@gmail.net. We’re hoping that folks living along the road decide to have or host sales in their front yards. Ditto businesses in Paradise, Catonsville, and Oella.

So here’s my dream: I wake up early on the appointed Saturday. The sun is shining, but not too much, and the birds are singing. I inhale a quick breakfast, put on my walking shoes, a hat, and sunscreen, and head up to Frederick Road. I look left; I look right.

Everywhere I look, people are haggling and mixing it up. Stuff is heading from one person’s basement to another’s. There’s food and entertainment along the way. Catonsville is doing what it does best: yard sale-ing. At the end of the day, CEFM gets a honking stack of checks to help our neighbors who have come up against a difficult time. And I have, in my little shopping cart, the things Ken and I have been searching for. What, you ask? I’ll tell you later!