When Life Is Better Than Reality TV

I really prefer a quiet life, planned and paced to my preferences.

Right now, my life is more like a reality TV show. Let's call it "The Ruth Show". It's a combination of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" and "Antiques Roadshow" with a little bit of "The Housewives of Aviara".

Ruth is the estate sales woman we hired to sell off the remnants of our parents' estate (furnishings, antiques, etc) so that we can then sell the house. Ruth is one of a kind. I think that she should be on TV. Unfortunately, I'm being sucked, unwittingly into this reality,

First, Ruth and her team go into the home and tear it apart, they put up tables and lamps. They log everything in to their computers, organize it and price it. They will sell everything and anything, from the rickety to the antique. She told me that she sold an airplane once. They advertise on websites, post signs and send out emails. Hoards of people come from hundreds of miles away. Ruth's loyal customers come early, to get the "good" stuff.

All this is good, she is doing a great job. But, the neighbors don't seem to think so. This is a middle class neighborhood. But, the kind of middle class neighborhood where everyone drives a Mercedes, even if it's leased. In France, we call this bourgeise and it is not something you'd work toward achieving. But, in N. County San Diego, this is the ultimate -- a new, large house with new large furniture, a television on every wall and an enormous built-in refrigerator.

The minute the sale started yesterday, a woman from the local homeowner's association (HOA) was in the house, delivering a "cease and desist" to Ruth. Ruth didn't miss a beat, she called us and we called the woman. But it was after 5 PM, so the woman didn't answer her phone and the sale continued. Ruth called about 8 PM to say that the sale was going great, her clients were happy, she was happy.

The next morning, the HOA woman called again. We talked to her, told her that even if we closed down the sale, the advertising had gone out and people would be coming. No idea if this will work or not. Ruth continues with the sale, unflappable, she's excited and the house is swarming with people buying our stuff.

Hopefully the HOA will leave us alone until Ruth is done with her job.