Bazaars, Buckets, and Bargains!

    The Labor Day Holiday is the last
big travel weekend in summer.
    And that makes it the last chance
for some to cash in on tourist traffic.
    Isn't that why the price of gas
always seems to go up just before
the holiday?
    I guess it's one of those annoying
things you just come to expect.
    There's another that has always
bothered me.
     It's those fund raising coin drops
set up at busy intersections!
     I've always supported the
organizations looking for a handout.
     Fire Departments, Ambulance
Squads, and Little League teams all
deserve our support.
     But I've got to believe there are
better ways to ask for donations then
by having people, sometimes children,
standing out in the middle of a
highway when traffic is at a peak holding
a bucket up to your car window!
    I usually give in...and give.
    But the term 'Highway robbery' has popped
into my head as I go back through the same
intersection later in the day and have
a new group of collectors look at me as
though I'm a bad guy because I didn't
open the window this time!
    Of course there are other holiday 'Fund
raisers' that offer either fun or some great
deals.
   Church bazaars, for instance, are big
at this time of year. Many serve as kind
of community reunions where old
friends and neighbors get together for
some music, games, and...often....a brew
or two...or....well you get the picture!
    Then there's the Yard Sales! One of
my daughters, and her kids, seem to
believe the real economy of the United
States is based on the sale of pre-owned
toys, clothes, appliances, and nick knacks
set out at what seems to be every third
house along most streets and highways
during the holiday. Judging from the
deals she's found and the money she's
saved all of the evidence seems to support
her theory. Of course they pick up a few
items that aren't really as needed as they
seem to be when they first caught their
eye. But those items seem to end up at
HER Yard Sale.......and somebody else
usually buys them!
  So keep your eyes open and your
wallet handy as you're making the
rounds this weekend. Watch out for
a good bazaar, a great bargain, and
anybody standing in the middle of the
road holding a bucket up to your car
window!
   Hope your long weekend is fun and
that all your NEWS is good!