Menno is my Homeboy

The famous MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) sale was this past weekend and for the fourth time in my life, I attended. There are very few changes over the years, but there are some: The people you meet from your past are much older looking. The venue. They now sell Sushi, although what that stuff is doing at a traditional Mennonite event is beyond me.

Pretty much everything else stays the same. For those who are not familiar with this event, or are, but have never gone, this is the deal. First off, you buy your food tickets because food is king at the MCC sale. You then line up for the sausage and pancake breakfast. With Aunt Jemima syrup running off your Styrofoam plate, you find someone you know at the endless rows of tables and chairs and join them for breakfast. It will be somebody you have not seen for many years but have some sort of connection with through a church you once attended.

After the last gulp of so-so coffee, you start wandering. With one eye on the booths and their wares, and the other eye on the lookout for familiar faces, you do the rounds. The rows and rows of food booths can take a back seat now that the pancakes are digesting, and you look for the quilts. At least that is what we did because busylizzy is into quilting. Even a novice has to admit that the quilts are amazing! At this point, you part company with your spouse because she knows a whole set of people from her past that you do not know, and vice versa. It is just more efficient that way.

I wandered to the Auction area and watched the proceeding there for while. There are boats, cars, and three brand new RVs this year all sold at auction. Something I saw at the auction shocked me. They start the proceedings off by selling a loaf of bread to the highest bidder. Of course, it is a donation and the bread is only symbolic. In past years, this loaf has sold for $100,000.00 to $200,000.00. With the economy being down, I was really curious to see how much this loaf would fetch this year. The bidding bogged down at a mere $2,000.00 and that was the final offer. This is unprecedented and does not bode well for the lofty goal of raising at least $700,000.00 at the sale for this year. It also says a lot about the financial well being of our community, or maybe just the fear of letting go of money in a bad economy. There were few bidders and the prices on all the items were very low. It was getting depressing so I began to wander again.

There was no shortage of familiar faces. I could not walk a few yards without making eye contact and then saying hi, or stopping to chat. I even picked up some business when I bumped into an old client from 10 years ago. I spoke with the 92 year old pastor who married busylizzy and myself 41 years ago.  He was so thrilled to see that we were still married. Isn't that a sign of the times? 

We then decided on what to have for lunch. Because we eat all the traditional 'Menno foods' at home, the usual fare did not appeal to us so I had a Bison Burger heaped with fried onions. We found a retired pastor couple from our church and ate with them and what ensued was an interesting conversation regarding their recent trip to Peru. A bit more wandering and meeting and greeting and then back home to get on with our day. 

In the next few days, we will hear how much money was raised for HIV/AIDS as well as clean water wells, all for Africa. I sincerely hope they reach their goal, but it will surprise me. We usually leave a big donation, but because my work situation has been abysmal this year, we too are being careful. If we are typical of the average attendee, there will be a downturn. Let's hope not. 

busylizzy's mom and dad together with Reverend Erwin Cornelson, the pastor who married us. He crafts beautiful wooden dishes and busylizzy purchased a bread plate. He tells us it will be his last MCC sale. If my mind is half as sharp as his when and if I attain his age of 92, I will be thrilled. (And will still be blogging) 

We actually had two pastors marry us, and the lady on the left is the wife of the other one, together with two of her daughters.

Here is me with a real 'find'. This woman, together with her now deceased husband, were witnesses at the signing ceremony of our wedding 41 years ago. She also happens to be one of our neighbours in Oroville.