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I enjoy a good auction.  I enjoy running one even more.  Auctions are battle of wits and represents a very strong suspension of disbelief from the audience with the I’ll-pay-this-much-if-you-convince-me-it’s-worth-that-much methodology as the cornerstone of success. Normally I shoot for 50% above regular market value as my target price for a given items and there are a few ways to help this along:

1) Every item is special – it doesn’t matter if you’re selling something out of a God damn gumball machine, the what-ever you’re holding is unique the audience just needs to know why.

2) Convince the bidder that they’ll be taken down a peg in the eyes of a cruel and calculating God if they let the bid stand with someone else on an item they’ve bid where the high bid is less than the combined value of their wallet and retirement.

Anyway, I’ve set a new personal record.  A patch that normally sells for $8.00 sold for $42.00.  I win.

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I couldn’t think of anything interested that had happened during the OA weekend but slowly a repressed memory returned.  I had to double check with Chris Fosmire that it had actually happened as the incident was almost somnogogic.

I was in Totem Lodge, the main social building in camp and asked Chris Fosmire when I had gotten Vigil Honor, a level of recognition in the OA and he responded late August of 2001.  Mr. Williams, a crazy machinist who’s been in the OA since the dawn of Treasure Island that perpetually wears safety glasses thought for a moment a looked at me and said: It all makes sense.

Me: What does?
Him: You got Vigil in August and four weeks later, 9/11.

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I couldn’t think of anything interested that had happened during the OA weekend but slowly a repressed memory returned.  I had to double check with Chris Fosmire that it had actually happened as the incident was almost somnogogic.

I was in Totem Lodge, the main social building in camp and asked Chris Fosmire when I had gotten Vigil Honor, a level of recognition in the OA and he responded late August of 2001.  Mr. Williams, a crazy machinist who’s been in the OA since the dawn of Treasure Island that perpetually wears safety glasses thought for a moment a looked at me and said: It all makes sense.

Me: What does?
Him: You got Vigil in August and four weeks later, 9/11.