Recently, we cruised Highway 36 communities, meeting old and new friends while exploring tables filled with family history and stories during the annual treasure hunt. Because we have what we need, we fill friends’ wish lists as well as search for that one cool “I didn’t know I needed that” surprise. During this year’s journey, I found one of those ahas, but it couldn’t be moved. Here’s the scoop.
These annual snooping opportunities disguised as garage sales reveal local history and family adventures. Even if I don’t carry physical treasure home, these experiences etch into memory, leaving me grateful to learn a snippet of someone else’s story.
At one stop, the resident showcased flight software on her table, so my husband asked if she was a pilot. She explained her late husband flew and that they’d owned several planes during their long marriage. She added that one Christmas, they experienced mechanical failure flying into Albuquerque and crash landed. I exhaled relief when she said the entire family walked away.
As she detailed her fears regarding the end result as they dropped low, aiming for a runway, she mentioned how city lights combined with Christmas decor to brighten the darkness ahead. Her specifics breathed life into her tale.
As she shared, I spied a humongous tomato plant overtaking her flower bed. Once I knew her family survived their crash landing, I had to hear its story.
Obviously, walking away from a plane crash trumps a vibrant tomato plant exploding amidst flowers. Luckily, we’d hear that explanation as well.
In addition to hearing stories and examining other folks’ treasures, I love exploring yards. Seeing what someone else plants, how they arrange outdoor space, and the décor they add to showcase plantings draws me in like filings to a magnet. Heavens, humans with green thumbs think up the most creative ways to upcycle old farm equipment, statuary, and funky signs. Hearing gardening back-stories is a yard sale bonus any day of the week.
This plane crash survivor’s thriving grass and strategically planted bushes and perennials added tidy curb appeal to her home. However, that outrageous tomato vine revealed the owner’s adventuresome nature.
Once I knew her family survived their near catastrophe, I asked to hear her tomato story. She laughed and said it didn’t have a story. It was a volunteer.
I asked if she’d planted tomatoes in that spot last year. A definite “no” left no doubt this surprised her as well.
After she found the volunteer growing amongst her flowers, she left it. Clearly, it flourished to the point she had to tie it to her porch railing to support its wild profusion. Connecting this story back to her Christmas miracle shared earlier, green tomatoes waiting to ripen dangled from top to bottom. She’ll soon enjoy another celebration that like her other story, she didn’t anticipate.
I’d guess a bird digested a ripe tomato, rested on that wrought-iron rail after its meal, and defecated the now fertilized package before relaunching itself into Kansas skies. Apparently finding conditions ideal, said seed sprouted and this woman let it do its thing, leading to one heck of an unexpected harvest. Based on our yard sale conversation, she’s no stranger to miracles.
Karen Madorin is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and sixth-generation Kansan.