Dateline Dayton – Early Wednesday morning of last week, my brother-in-law Willie and I were on our way to Florida, to move my son Chris back to Dayton.

Our first destination; however, was going to be Gallery 63, an auction house located in Roswell, GA. Unfortunately, due to a minor problems, such as glasses, taking the wrong exit, making wrong turns, we didn’t arrive at the auction facility until 4:45. They closed at 4. This meant we were spending the night in the area. Off to find lodging. Since we needed fuel and recalling that we had passed a station, we turned around. As you may guess, headed back, they didn’t sell diesel. We made a U-turn towards Gallery 63.

Driving for miles, not finding a suitable gas station, we also couldn’t locate a place to spend the night.

I told Willie we should try a new direction. We headed back to Interstate 75 North for a motel at one of the exits. I was tired of pulling a trailer through narrow streets. It wasn’t easy, but we succeeded. The motel was nice, but expensive. It did not include breakfast. Most do. It was now 7 in the evening and we were tired..

Next morning, we returned to the auction house after getting fuel. Because we were early, we walked across the street to a restaurant that cost less for both of us than what they wanted to charge us for one breakfast at the motel.

By 8:45, the help started to arrive at the auction gallery, but they had to stand outside and wait for someone with the key. A little before 9, John opened for business. We waited before entering so the employees could get settled.

John was impressed with the cash registers and base that I brought to be auctioned. He really appreciated that I had a written description to go with each.

John assigned numbers to all of them and directed workers to unload the trailer. In less than an hour, with the trailer empty and the paperwork completed, we were on our way to Chris’s.

Incidentally, Gallery 63 has a show on the History Channel, called Auction King. It is on Thursday nights at 9.

You can view my cash register base and two of the four registers I put in the auction on their website, by entering Gallery 63. Once on the site, click on “Current Auction Items.” Page down to the first item, you see, the base. Continuing, you will find two of the four registers. I have seven items in the auction.

Meanwhile…

We spent the rest of last Thursday driving to Tampa. As soon as we reached Interstate 275, it really started raining, not unusual for me on trips to Florida.

We arrived at Chris’s at 7:30. Shortly, we were on our way to the casino, where we had supper and tried to win a little money. It did not happen.

Next week: Our return trip.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net