A GOOD, NON-MURDER GAME PLAN
I decided to try to sell some larger items, like furniture, especially since I knew I would be moving into a smaller place. I could think of no reason to keep some of the larger pieces of furniture.
Once I determined which pieces I would
try to sell, I posted them on Facebook Marketplace priced to sell quickly!
A couple of items, like the fancy, oak
roll-top desk, a friend wanted. Those I gladly gave away.
I sold a small, glass curio cabinet with
lights you could turn on and off, and a big China hutch with a glass cupboard
on top, and three drawers underneath.
People met me at my apartment and I felt
somewhat safe, as there were other residents in the building and most met me
during the day.
However, one time someone contacted me
about the sewing machine and cabinet I had for sale, but they wanted to meet me
at 8 pm. They said they needed to wait until their husband was off work, to
come over and pick it up.
I decided to agree, but later I talked with
my sister and she cautioned me. “Why do they want to meet you so late? That
doesn’t sound right. And why does she need her husband?”
Those few questions were enough to let
my imagination run wild! I knew if they were coming to murder and rob me, there
was no one on the alert nearby. My little Jack Russell terrier would bark up a
storm, but I wasn’t really sure he would do much damage, and I was certainly
not convinced he would come to my defense!
I decided to take my sister’s advice and
called a friend of mine that lived within 15-20 minutes of me. I gave her the
little bit of contact information I had on the person—really, just her Facebook
name. I told her the time we were to meet (after my friend’s bedtime!!), and
she agreed that if she did not hear from me around 20 minutes after 8, she
would call the cavalry!
In an effort to avoid my impending death,
I thought about steps I could take to lessen my “exposure”. I decided to keep the
exchange as “public” as possible, and not allow them into my apartment.
The four-apartment complex had an
attached building that had four, one-car garages. Each of those garages had a
door in the back that led down a hallway and to the apartment doors.
I decided it would be safer to move the
sewing machine into the garage, and I could just open the garage door when they
arrived and not even allow them in my apartment. Furthermore, if things went
south, I could make a hasty retreat to the back of the garage and down the
hallway, hopefully fast enough to be able to unlock the door and get inside.
I felt like I had a good, non-murder
game plan for the late-night sewing machine exchange.
I had my sister and my friend ready by
phone if I needed backup.
A few minutes before the sewing machine
exchange time, I opened the garage door and watched for headlights.
They pulled in.
I waved.
A middle-aged couple stepped out of
their older, pickup truck. The woman quickly came over and introduced herself
and her husband.
I showed her the cabinet and opened the
door to show her the sewing machine. She had never seen something like that, so
I raised the top up and over until it landed on the other side of the
hinge—making the sewing “table”. Then I showed her how to lift the sewing
machine and put the piece down in the front to keep it in place.
She was amazed.
She shared how she had been learning to
sew by hand and had been wanting to buy a sewing machine.
“But,” she said, “we couldn’t afford one.”
They were such a sweet couple I gladly
showed her how to thread the machine, the settings, and the foot pedal.
She was incredibly grateful, and they
loaded it up in their pickup truck and drove it away.
It was such a wonderful experience
selling the sewing machine to someone so excited about it, that I ALMOST forgot
to contact my sister and my friend, who most assuredly would be calling the
police any minute!!
I called; they did not. All was well.
A few days later, a woman came over to
buy a winged-back chair I posted. A much braver salesman now, I brought her
into my apartment. As I explained my situation and how I was selling much of my
furniture before I moved, she asked what else I would be selling.
I pointed to my glass coffee table with
matching end tables. She looked them over and asked the price.
She explained that she had a store where
she sold furniture that she refurbished. She really wanted to take all four
pieces of furniture. I really wanted to sell her all four pieces.
Unfortunately, she did not have enough room to fit them all in her car, nor did
she bring enough money with her.
I felt like she was trustworthy. She
paid me for the one piece, and we loaded two in her car. We exchanged phone
numbers, and it turned out her store was closer to where I worked, than to my
apartment.
We agreed on the day, and I volunteered
to load the other two pieces into my car. I would drive them to work, where she
could meet me to pick them up and pay for the rest of the furniture.
I am happy to say she honored her word,
and she bought the rest of that set! The more furniture I sold, the lighter I
felt. The more boxes I emptied, the less I had to move.
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