THE AUCTION(S)
I just got done telling you about the flea market at Shipshewana but now I've got something really has to be seen if you go there. Next to the flea market booths is a very large auction barn. On the Wednesday of each flea market this barn turns into the most active place of the whole week. You see, this the day of the auctions...and I say that in plural form.

Early Wednesday morning people start showing up to check out everything that's up for sale. Close inspections are made of just about each and every piece, this day most of the items being antiques. While some items were obviously going to bring in only a small amount, other items were sure to bring in some big dollars. Some items, especially the china and glass wear was checked for any cracks, furniture was checked for stains or other deformities.

If you don't believe that these people were serious about their auctions all you have to do is look at the faces as they checked out each and every piece. This was serious work and you had to know exactly what you were buying. But this was just the calm before the storm. If you look up at the ceiling of the barn you'll notice a very large bell with a rope extending from the side up into the ceiling. At 8:00 am, and I do mean at precisely 8:00 am (you can't be late at this thing folks), the bell rang and the storm began.

Now as I said earlier this is auctions in the plural form. There's not just one and not even two. If you said three you'd be way off and four isn't enough either. Five you say??? Nope guess again. I'll give you a hint.....3 squared. Who's the math whizzes out there. Yep....9 mini auctions took off at once...all at the same time. Think of a hive of bees and the sound of the hmmmm coming from the hike. It was the same way here and nine different auctioneers took over the microphones at once, each one with a small group of buyers around him or her (yes, there was one female auctioneer doing her part as well). The sound first started as a low drone but seemed to get louder with each item that came up for sale. In an hour it had crescendoed into something loud enough that one Amish boy put his fingers to his ears.

Oh yes...the Amish are just as much into their auctions as the rest of us. Those that I saw were not only buying but also helped hold up items and looked for bidders. This family stayed close to a table that the woman in the picture had chosen because of something that caught her fancy. At another table three young Amish men held up items as the auctioneer barked out the bids with rapid fire. One older Amish man looked at canes while another, who I saw walking around at first, came to booth to help out the auctioneer. Some bidding at some tables was slow at times but at one table I saw a regular bidding war going on, between two women. I never did find out who the winner was. As long as there were items for sale the process went on, it first started as one hour then two, then three, the auctioneers drone going on until every last item was sold. After that the day quieted down as the auctioneers took their megaphones home until the next week when they would come back and do it all over again. For the rest of this look at the pictures and try to imagine the sounds of what you would hear at this event. Remember there are nine auctions going on at once. Just let your ears fill up with what you might hear. Oh...one more thing.....if you happen to go......don't scratch your nose.

THE ULTIMATE FLEA MARKET

Most of you who see this will have gone to a flea market at some time or other. Some of us are even addicted to them and go everytime one shows up. Well, today I'm going to show you one of the most ultimate flea markets on the planet. This is the flea market in Shipshewana, Indiana.

The town of Shipshewana is not that big...maybe around 3,500 or so if I read correctly. That does not include the large Amish settlement located in three counties in northern Indiana. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, however, that population swells to well over 10,000 as people from all over the country show up for the town's main event. Now in this picture at the left it may not seem like much but you have to remember that this picture was taken a little after 8:00 in the morning. Three hours later this aisle of booths was packed full of people looking for a good deal. If it's something that's at all sellable you'll probably find it here someplace in the more than 1,500 booths. You could say the market is a weekly festival for the town with everybody that shows up for it. I've seen license plates from all over the country parked on the 40 acres the grounds have to offer. Not only do you see cars, however, you see something else.

Not only do the out-of-towners show up for the flea market but so do the Amish, and not just a few. One area of the grounds has a special parking are just for the dozens of buggies that show up. Some Amish even have their own booths, mainly of baked goods or items from their gardens.

Not only do the Amish sell their goods they like to find a good deal just like the rest of us so they'll walk the aisles looking for something to take back to the house as well. Amish men might look for tools for sale or something they can use on the farm. Women might find a booth selling some kind of fabric or something they can use in their yards. The Amish children, of course, are going to be looking at all the sweets for sale at the flea market. Just like you or me they like to go out and shop just like the rest of us.

Oh....I almost forgot. The flea market is not the only thing to see around the Shipshewana area. One of our favorite things to do it just simply drive the back roads where all the Amish farms are located....and you never know what you're liable to find. You may see a multi-horse drawn team working in a field. You'll usually see kids out in their yards playing some kind of game. Sometimes you'll see the kids actually working a team in the field. The like holding the reins of the horses just as much as anybody else. In this picture at left we found this Amish man following very closely behind this tractor and trailer of large hay bales. I must admit I was just a tad worried as I thought of what that bale of hay on top could do to the man if there was some sort of mechanical failure with the trailer. To be honest I didn't really think anything would happen but you have to admit it's a little nerving to see him in that position.

What I'm going to do at this point is just let you see the sights we saw during our time there. I could talk and talk but I think the pictures tell more. If you want to go, the area is around Elkhart County northwest of Ft. Wayne. It's easy to get to and takes between 5 and 6 hours to get there by car. Well, that is if you live in southern Indiana. If you see this from the west coast I guess it would take a few minutes longer. So just kind of kick back and have a look. Oh...you might want to put a bib on. Some of the pictures might make you drool.

HANDS

Recently I was covering a Busch Series race at Kentucky Speedway and got to thinking about something. At a race of this level or any other level (high or low) you can have all the brains in the world, all the bodies in the world, all the car owners in the world, all the crew chiefs in the world telling what needs to be done to get a race car going as fast as possible but if you don't have the hands to do the work then nothing will happen at all.

Without hands you have nothing. You can't put the lugnuts on the wheels. You can't put the air wrench on the lugnuts. You can't put the spark plugs in the engine or the spark plug wires on the spark plugs. It takes hands to put the steering wheel on and take it off after the race is over. And it even takes hands to turn the steering wheel during the race. What do spectators do at a race when they see a crash. They point to it with their hands. What else do spectators do with their hands during the race, most likely holding a can of beer or eating a sandwiche.

The next time you go to a race just watch the hands. You'll see them holding a stopwatch as a scorekeeper is keeping times. You'll see a little kid's hands racing his toy race car around an imaginary track. You'll see a young couple holding hands on the edge of their seats as they're watching their favorite driver coming to the start/finish line. You'll see the starter on the flag stand holding the green, yellow, and checkered flags with his hands. You'll see a hand in the shape of a fist fly in the air as a certain car goes flying by. You'll see a hand stuffing a face with food. In the press room you'll see hands typing stories on laptop computers and hands pushing the little buttons on a camera. On the race track you'll see hands picking up pieces of race after a big wreck.

Sometimes you'll see a big foam rubber hand held up in the air with a driver's number on it. You'll see hands during a pit stop pulling off tires then slamming new ones on the hubs. A hand will also tell the driver that he can leave the pits and sometimes that hand is waving wildly. Even in Victory Lane the hand has significance as the driver and crew holds up a number one to show what place they finished. Hands are used to put on all the caps during the post-race photo session. They're used to push the car back to the garage and onto the truck. They're used at the concession stands to serve up hamburgers, hotdogs, drinks, and what good is popcorn if you don't have hands to eat it with. What's the best way of eating a big piece of fried chicken during a race? With your hands of course.

When it comes down to it we wouldn't be much without our hands and those ten little fingers. We don't think about it much until we mess one of little digits up somehow. Even something as small as a hangnail can makes doing things a little more difficult. So the next you're doing something, whether it be working on the car, playing with the kids, driving around town, or just sitting at home watching television, look down at your hands and just say, 'What would I do without you?' They'll appreciate you more for it.