Let’s meet

“Can you meet at the …” I ask every person who buys something from me on Facebook. Usually we meet near El Dorado city limits. For instance last week I sold two items. Both buyers wanted to meet in the city limits. No problem, I go to town most days for exercise and errands. To the first I said, “Can we meet Tuesday at the Catholic thrift store on Main Street?” The shop is open Tuesdays and Fridays. I had a donation to give.The buyer initially said, “okay ” until I messaged, “I’m parked at the thrift store.” Only then did she admit, “I don’t know where that is. Can we meet at the courthouse?” I drove three blocks to the courthouse and parked. She found my red car, paid and quickly disappeared. The next buyer gave me several options of places to meet. I chose to meet at a restaurant where she planned to have an early supper. The waitress wanted to seat me. I just wanted to meet, greet, exchange money for books and leave. A bit unusual but nothing like the two times we have driven to Mammoth Springs Park in northern Arkansas. Both times, it happened to work out as “on our way to or from Missouri we can bring the item.” Four or five years ago it was a chandelier my St. Louis son no longer wanted. We met the buyer at the park. My husband wanted to go see the Springs that day. I was too tired to think about walking a long way off to see water. I should have walked. He kept saying he wanted to see the Springs. So when a seamstress wanted my vintage sewing machine and said meet at the park, we planned our next trip traveling that way. She and I talked about sewing machines. He walked a block away and discovered that the spring gushes out 9 million gallons of water per hour from the bottom of a 70 foot deep pool. You cannot see the spring. You only see the lake and river it produces. It was not what he expected. We went one further than that the time a sewing machine collector in Michigan arranged to meet us when we visited nearby relatives. We met at a fast food place. The buyer took the machine, we ordered supper. Instructions for meetings need to be exact. I told a buyer, “My husband will be in the grey van in the movie theater parking lot while I am at physical therapy.” The buyer drove to the theater. My husband waited in the parking lot. They did not meet. We had a white van at the time. My fault. I am not a detail oriented person. For more than 30 years he has purchased the same vehicle in different colors. From the passenger’s seat, they all look the same to me. After we sorted out the flaw in my color identification, they met and completed the sale. Clear communication about the location is also necessary, which is why I specifically told a buyer, “I will be under the sign at Atwoods in a red car.” The buyer agreed. We both went to Atwoods. We both sent messages, “I am here.” We could not see each other. Finally I said, “I am at the El Dorado Atwoods.”“I am in Magnolia,” she replied. I sold the item to another person.After that, I always specify, “I am in El Dorado. I can meet…”Choosing a public meeting place, on the date and time specified, I meet some interesting folks. They each carry away my excess and leave me cash to use when I find something for sale on Facebook and we decide where to meet.