Anyone who has been reading my blog for any length of time knows that I have jones for the auction and all things auctionee, so to speak.
It's not the stuff that I find at these gatherings, nor the thrill of a winning bid, or even the fun of the Ringman, which I do on a regular basis.
No... it's the people I meet there, time and time again.
They bring a unique perspective and a passion that shows up in the oddest ways and is eerily similar to the passion that Oz imbues in folk.
In 4 days, I have lost two dear friends from the auction and it saddens me greatly.
John was one whom I knew from Prairie Creek Auctions in Vigo county, Indiana. He was in his mid-50's, suffered from Diabetes and had one leg. I loved him dearly and we had a running gag about him leaving his leg at home. His wife, who worked at KFC, would sometimes bring me a small container of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Hmmm.. Them's good mashed potatoes and gravy!!!
Betty was a kindly little old lady in her early 90's who attended Shadow Auction Barn here in town. She would come in a wheelchair and had a little slot in the seating across from the snack bar where she sat and bid on anything with roses on it... and fake plants.
That woman loved fake plants. Her front porch was a jungle of plastic leaves, flowers and branches.
If you've read my second book, Shadow Demon of Oz, you'll recognize her as one of the characters at the Umbra Auction Barn.
Both will be missed greatly by family, friends (myself included), and anyone who ever came across their paths.
The Shifting Sands welcome another pair of souls into Oz...
James C. Wallace II
I had always thought of her as one of the young children who were brought in to supplement the cast and do the very delicate job of dancing her ballet routine to welcome Dorothy. I didn't realize that she was, in fact, one of the 124 adult pituitary midgets which were hired as Munchkins.
