All part of living in the city

Living in the city has its advantages - walkability and scores of restaurants and entertainment options come to mind. But every once in a while, the suburbs sound like a good change of pace for me. We run into the oddest people in Seattle, and half of them happen to live next door. Nearly every interaction I've had with someone living in that house has led to my recapping the conversation with Mark and ending with, "I'm pretty sure he was high."

Yesterday afternoon we came home to a full-blown yard sale going on next door - on a Thursday afternoon in the pouring rain. Not only were old furniture and items strewn all over their front yard and into the street, monopolizing a precious parking space, but a BONFIRE was raging in their charcoal grill. On the lawn. Under a tree. They asked me if I wanted to come look at their $2 offerings but I declined since I was in a rush. By 10:30 p.m., everything was still in the yard and the street, the radio was blasting and the fire was still going. Bedtime rolled around and I had just asked Mark to do something about the blasting radio (we could hear everything from our bedroom window) when we heard another neighbor yell "TURN IT OFF!" At that point the radio was turned off and the night grew quieter, but we were later awakened by a loud cracking noise (at first I thought someone was breaking into the apartment) which seemed to be coming from the neighbor's lawn and was accompanied by voices and laughter. I can only assume they were breaking apart the furniture they couldn't sell to feed the fire.

I can't imagine why anyone would organize a yard sale in the rain but I've come up with a few hunches.

a. "We're broke... LET'S HAVE A YARD SALE. RIGHT NOW."
b. One of their housemates up and ditched the place, leaving behind some belongings. The housemates left holding the bag decided to sell them. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
c. A bonfire in the rain sounded like a good idea and the yard sale was an afterthought. "Since we're already outside..."

Oh and when I left the house this morning, the furniture and items were still on the lawn and in the street. Way to clutter our block, people.