not 4 sale ... except 2 me
Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 04:44PM So last Friday I hied my bad court reporter self over to one of my favorite places in South Carolina:

Camden, fourth-oldest city in South Carolina and the site of much Revolutionary War glory, is home to the Carolina Cup.
Now you know.
Like Aiken, Camden is all about these:
If you happen to forget, the signs remind you:
But after the deposition was over I was not in the mood to horse around. Instead I visited this place:
Where, if you wanted to sit around, you'd best not be afraid of heights:
And where the shopkeeper invokes the Almighty to deter would-be shoplifters:
Which is fine, but this t-shirt (and the mask behind it) had already scared me pretty good:
Which was just as well because as it turned out, the only thing I wanted was an antique hatbox, dark brown with old-gold lettering and a genuine leather strap.
Only problem was, there were three little white stickers lined up on the lid and they read, left to right thusly:
not 4 sale
I stared and stared. The two words "not" and "sale" with my next-to-favorite number in between (my favorite number is 44), dramatically increased my hankering for the hatbox.
I was even holding a little deviled-egg plate of clear Depression glass, but I was so depressed about the apparent unavailability of the hatbox, I could not work myself up to purchasing the plate.
So I put it down and turned to go. As I did, I caught the eye of the proprietress. I pulled the most woebegone face I could muster.
It probably looked something like this:

"The only thing I want is not 4 sale," I mourned out loud.
Instantly I saw the glimmer of a dollar sign in her eye. "What is it?" she wanted to know.
I told her.
"I'll go look at it," she promised.
I said I'd wait outside, and I did, and in a little bit she came out to find me. She was holding the hatbox.
I suppose God was minding the store.
She named her price, which was the exact number lodged in my head. I chose not to dicker but claimed my prize, paid the bill, and went on my way.
The hatbox looks gawjus in my den:
And every time I look at it, I do this:

Happy Sunday! Happy October! Happy Shopping!
Jennifer |
11 Comments | 





























































































![Hold Back the Dawn [DVD] Charles Boyer; Olivia de Havilland; Paulette Goddard](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AkExBJQsL._SL75_.jpg)













Reader Comments (11)
You did good! I'm sure it was that pitiful face that clinched the deal. :)
You silly goose! Glad that you got your treasure!
Oh it's fabulous. I'd have made that face too. You did do good. God was watching, and he wanted to treat you. Thanks for stopping by. Love when you visit. Have a great weekend. I'm off to defrost my turkey, it's our Thanksgiving tomorrow.
It's a ploy, they put "not 4 sale" and it makes customers want it even more. I could be wrong.
I love places like that.
@Mari ... I so hoped it would and as it turned out, it did! LOLOLOL
@Donna M. ... whatever it takes to snag the score! I'll make faces all day long.
@Irene ... I like the way you think! God was watching and He wanted me to have that hatbox because He knew how much I'd enjoy it! Now you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Turkey sounds so good right now. Our temps are going to go above 90 tomorrow and Tuesday too. I may just go swimming.
@Debbie ... you may be right! Just thinking I couldn't have it made me want it all the more! I guess there really is a sucker born every minute! But I had such fun.
Way to shop!
Loving those Shots!!Hahahaaaa......goober!
Now WHY do you have a shop that SELLS things and put signs out that say Not 4 Sale???!!!! Say What??
hughugs
@Hobbit .... high five, sistah!
@Donna ... I know, right? It was a DECORATION up on top of the shoe shelves, for crying out loud. But I think Debbie may be right; the three little words (well, two words and a digit) were a ploy to make me want it! Caveat Emptor!
VERY NICE POST!!!
Steve
Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
@Steve ... why thank you, and thanks for dropping by! I love Common Cents.
"Not for sale" sign is the doorman of retail. "You can't buy this" ... "You are not on the list" ... it's all a mind game! :)