I'm Good at Selling

Last Saturday, at Pet Day, I went out to sell cupcakes. In pouring rain and howling wind, no less. Keni had bought about 80. While we got some people coming by our booth, we didn't get a lot of traffic. We were way out at one edge of the event venue, was one reason. The other reason we got very little traffic---weather!

So, fearful we would lose a lot of money and not even break even, over the cupcake buying, Keni sent me out with a flat basket platter of cupcakes, to sell to anyone willing. I took out anywhere from 8 to ten at a time.

I sold four platters of those cupcakes!

And, I enjoyed doing it.

I can sell things when I believe in what I'm selling or what I'm raising money for.

I wrote an original Christmas story a few years ago. I waited a little too long to write it to find any selling venue. I wanted to raise money for spay neuter, you see.

I also used to pick up cans at football home games, to raise gas money so I could transport cats to and from the vet. The drinking is excessive with any football crowd and so is the waste. There are cans and bottles galore out there after any home football game, free for the taking. I used to take them, if I could find a parking space close enough so that I could take the full bags of cans or bottles to my car before going out again.

So, I finally figured out how to print off my original Christmas story in chapbook form on my computer, although that in itself took days. Christmas was fast approaching. It was Christmas Eve before I had them ready, in fact. Now what to do. Too late, I languished.

But, in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I headed downtown with about 50 of the chapbooks I'd printed off and carefully stapled together. I had a small table, a chair and a battery powered tapedeck. I had only Christmas tape--Jimmy Buffet. I sat down behind that table and pushed the Play button. "Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Gin"....rang out over the mostly empty streets. It was the only Christmas music I had. Unfortunately, as the batteries wore down, Jimmy's voice got slower and deeper. No matter.

I hawked those books on that street corner like a pro. The lonely drunks at Squirrels began yelling at people that they better buy one. I appreciated the help from the lonely drunk crowd. It was only the lonely for the most part out on Christmas Eve.

I had no family and no reason to be anywhere else on Christmas Eve but on that street corner.

I met some interesting people. An old crusty guy came along. He had a heavy German accent. I gave him my speel about my orignal Christmas story and what the money would go for and he leaned close and whispered, "I don't want to buy your book. I want to buy you. How much for the night?"

I said, "Sir, I think you are mistaking me for a whore. I am pimping an original Christmas story, not my body and I do have pepper spray. Wanna see it?"

He shelled out money for a book. The drunks across the street cheered!

I love selling for a cause! I made $200 in two hours.

I went home to my shack and my cats feeling warm and fuzzy.

Keni told me we actually made $61 on Pet Day. That is damn good in my opinion. Low attendance. Bad booth position. Really bad weather. We still made money!