Last Friday our plans had consisted of a softball game, but it was cancelled which left the evening wide open. Jay was off and I asked him what he wanted to do. He had a great plan - head to an Amish Auction down in southern Indiana. He baited me with Syd's tacos, I know it...but I took the bait and Lane, Jay and I headed south.
We ate those yummy Syd's tacos on the go and arrived about two hours after the start time for this auction. I have never been to this kind of an auction and I was dumbfounded at the crowd right off the bat. It was packed. There were a couple huge barn/sheds that were filled with people carrying items out. We went to watch the animals auction. It never occurred to me that there might be various items being auctioned off. I would guess there were about six different auctions going on at the same time. It was madness.
We finally made our way to the animal auction area. Again, a little shocking for me. I consider myself pretty country and even redneck-ish at times. And without sounding too judgmental or snotty here, I was at a loss and felt strangely out of place. It was obvious that the people there LOVED the auction and probably came every Friday night. Everyone, but us, seemed to know what was going on, where things were located and how everything went down. I'm pretty confident we stood out like three very sore thumbs.
I caught myself several times trying to adjust my facial expression. Shock, amusement, confusion, disgust, uncertainty, anger were just a few of the looks I wore at various times throughout the night. The large animal auction seemed pretty standard, and maybe because I have some experience in that area, I was okay with how everything went down.
The smaller animals, however, were a different story (at least for me). We walked into that arena/auction area and stood watching from the back for quite a while. We quickly realized the stacks and stacks of cardboard boxes (some Luv's diaper boxes) contained animals, mostly poultry but some rabbits, in various stages of life. One diaper box contained three, just-weaned piglets crammed inside! Many of the boxes were just plain boxes, with the top criss-crossed to keep it shut and/or tape wrapped around it. There were also some boxes that had the top off and chicken wire fastened across it. I felt a little better about those rigged-up boxes than the ones that were sealed shut.
Jay and Lane loved it and decided they needed a number...so I went and sat down in the stands while they went off to find a bidding number. I swear they were gone no less than 30 minutes...and honestly, I began to wonder if they hadn't left me. It was the longest 30 minutes ever. I felt like people probably thought I was from some animal activist group because I sat there all alone, looking around wide-eyed for Jay...
People would just toss around these boxes, one right after another. They would fall over, slide, bounce around...and then they would tear open the top and pull out a chicken or duck or rabbit. Plop it down on this spinning table (puke) and start taking bids. Then they would jerk the animal off the spin top and throw them back into a box, push the lid down and stack them in another pile. It was a process and men of all ages were focused on it. It was the craziest thing ever. I'm not saying they were technically abusing the animals, but they sure weren't being gentle either. (I do not believe anyone was intentionally trying to hurt any of the creatures.)
Jay was hoping to get a couple ducks (what in the world for, I do not know) and we missed those (dang). But Lane bought himself a couple very fat, high-dollar rabbits. Jay wanted him to experience the bidding process so he gave him the card and let him go. He didn't win the first rabbit he was bidding on and tried again. Quickly raising his number at the starting bid - Jay giving him a little nudge to the side, No, never take the first bid! Thankfully, one of the Amish gentlemen who was taking bids took over and announced he had a $5 bid! It all happened so fast, I'm not sure who was bidding against the Bud, but when it was all said and done we had the top bid of $17.50 and Lane was tickled pink that he had a huge fat rabbit - except we didn't realize we had to take both of them. Lovely.
At one point, a young man reached up to one of the top shelves behind the auctioneer table and grabbed a diaper box. They pulled out a very large guinea pig. All three of us just starting laughing. It was crazy!
And let me tell you, if you're a hand-talker (like myself, the Quackdaddy and the Bud) sitting amongst bidders at an auction is VERY dangerous. Both Lane and I came very close to bidding on some poultry a few times!
The only thing I saw worth bidding on were hanging flower baskets. They were lovely, and of course, we missed them. I was afraid we might come home with a couple fishing poles once Lane laid eyes on that particular auction, but we moved him right along...
We arrived late but did not come home empty-handed. I had a full belly from my most favorite tacos and we survived the experience unscathed. Jay and I both commented that the whole scenario was like something you would see in a movie. Just plain bizarre.
It's always fun to try something new. I actually enjoyed our Friday Night Fun. And in this particular instance, there is no need for me to go back anytime soon...
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