My Shameful Addiction

Hi, my name is East of The Pecos and I'm an Auctionholic.

(Hi East!)

Well, for me, it all started when I was just a wee small lad. I was probably about six or seven years old. See, my Uncle Louie had just gotten married and bought a new house in town. The people he bought it from had a Personal Property Auction to liquidate a lifetime of stuff they had accumulated and couldn't fit into their new digs. It was the first time I had ever been to an Auction, and it started me down the road to an addiction that would last my entire life

A couple of years later my Mom went to work for a Faith Based Organization that ran a Nursing Home, Assisted Living, and Apartment Complex for Seniors. Part of her job was to liquidate the Estates of people entering the facility to help pay for their care. Once again, the evil auction process entered my life. This time, though, I would go too far.

At first, the sales were just something that Mom dragged me to. She was a single mom in a time when that wasn't in vogue. I would wander around looking at all the neat stuff and always listen to the Auctioneer. His chant, to me anyway,  was like a Mermaid's siren song was to a Sailor. It was slowly drawing towards the reef. I was mesmerized.

Then it happened. Most addicts can't tell you that exact moment they fell into the abyess, the first time the monkey sank his claws into their back. I can.

Looking at some of  the sale items spread out on a table, I spotted a pair of bookends. they were Scotty Dogs, and Mom LOVED Scotty Dogs. My pockets were flush with my allowance money and I was determined to buy these for Mom.

I remember that anticipation as I watched the ringman select items for bid. When he finally held up those bookends I felt the rush of adrenalin. The Auctioneer started at a dollar. My heart sank because my allowance was only 75 cents (a princely sum for a kid in 1964) . But a magical thing happened, no one bid. Then 50 cents, again no bid. Then it came down to a quarter. My hand went up and for one glorious moment, an eight year old kid was the most important person in a crowd of a hundred people.

The Auctioneer had his "Have" and launched into the search for his "Want". 25, I have 25 do I hear 30, 30 the bid, 30 do you bid boys? 30 I have, do I hear 35, 35 do I have 35? Up goes my hand and the fight is on. The adrenalin rush is like nothing I'd ever felt in my young life. I have to own these dogs! I have 35, do I hear 40, 40 the bid. My unseen nemesis bids again; I have 40 do I hear 45, 45 the bid? Again the bid goes up and again I counter. The rush get stronger, my whole body trembling and the beads of sweat start forming on my forehead. 50, I have 50 do I hear 55? 50 do I hear 55, 50 the bid, last call for 55, are we all in? 50 going once, 50 going twice, SOLD! 50 cents to the young man in front!

The ringman walked over to me and placed the prize dogs in my shaking hand. I went to the cashier and handed over 2/3 of my allowance. It was worth every penny. The kiss from my Mom when I gave them to her was worth it too. And Mom was nice enough to give me back the 50 cents that I paid.  BONUS!

So that's how it happened. Since that day I’ve been addicted to the whole process.  As I got older I started  going to auction barns and weekly sales.  Then I started working in the car business and attending car auctions, eventually working at the largest one in the world in Manheim PA.  I thought about it a few weeks ago, and between the sales I got paid to work and ones that I attended as a buyer or gawker, I have somewhere between 10 and 12 thousand sales to my credit.

Since moving to Texas I have had the chance to live my lifelong dream.  After almost 5 long years away from the auction business, I’m back! And I’m the guy behind the mike! 

That’s right, I am a licensed Associate Auctioneer. Most of the time I’m a Ringman, but several times throughout the sale, I call bids. Once I get 10 sales under my belt I can take the State test for full fledged Auctioneer status. I passed that mark quite a while ago, but I’m really content with things as they are. Eventually I’ll sit for the exam, but for right now I’m happy to just be back in the game.  And not only am I in the game, I’m the team Captain!