Lucy’s Wholesale House and Emporium

I can almost see the living room floor, at least as much as I’m ever going to see. We still have boxes stacked along one set of book cases; fancy electric wheat grinders next to “supply your own energy” hand crank grinders, the last few ham radios and power pack units and a case of “So Easy to Preserve” instruction books. Lucy get’s these things at a reduced cost when purchasing in bulk and then let’s folks have them at her cost.

I’ve tried to explain how the free enterprise system works; you know, cost of goods sold mark up and profit for time spent. Lucy isn’t in it for the money so it’s a break even proposition where lots of folks get things they can use at better than reasonable prices.

The UPS drivers must have a betting pool wondering what it is we do for a living. I had one of them off load a large box of stuff, something he was going to leave on the front porch; but instead I’d already opened the front door. He was kind enough to go the extra few feet and leave it next to the piano where he had a chance to see all the sacks of wheat and rice stacked against the front window there in the living room.

He didn’t say a word; but I could see the little gears in his head turning as he shook off the thought. The only reason that stuff is still in burlap bags is because the heat sealer unit ( that’s what’s inside that wooden box the one with the steel carry handles ) needs a replacement element; otherwise it would all be stored away in Mylar pouches by now with all the other food storage.

Lucy’s about finished distributing yet another case of ham radio equipment complete with “J Pole Antennas”. The north side of Houston will have better coverage whenever the next tropical storm or hurricane hits with all the jibber jabbering ham radio operators outfitted in the latest gizmos.

Just after we got home from our trip up to New York I worked up the courage to drill a hole in my house for the coaxial cable to hook up on the back of Lucy’s radio. There’s a light switch box convenient to where Lucy wanted to set up shop so I drilled the hole through the back of that box to the outside and ran the cable through the face plate. We went out and got a do it yourself kit at the local IKEA store; not much, just a few pieces of cut wood and screws to make a shelf unit. It’s been stained and sits in our bedroom atop an antique chest where Lucy can talk to her heart’s content.

It’s a good thing all that stuff is being cleared out with Autumn just around the corner; that’s when the Chocolate Order and the San Francisco Herb order start. The best part of that is how the house smells with all that stuff scattered around the edges. That’s life here at Lucy’s Wholesale House and Emporium.