If you like searching for treasure and not minding that you have to sort through a little trash to find it, and you really don’t care if you have to dodge a few rain drops and maybe even get a little wet to get those tiny treasures, you would have enjoyed the heck out of this years Champlain Township-wide Trash & Treasure Event.

…the rain that didn’t come might be the bigger story. There was supposed to be lighting, thunder, a downpour, hail and possibly cats flying through the air all day, so I was ready to open this piece with lyrics from Rupert Holmes’ hit from 1979, ‘Escape’ — “If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain…” or from Queen’s 1975 classic, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ — “Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me…” or Supertramp’s 1982 top-40 single ‘It’s Raining Again’ — “It’s raining again Oh no, my love’s at an end Oh no, it’s raining again…” or even ‘Prayers For Rain’ from one of my favourite albums, The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’, which came out in 1989 — “Prayers for rain are a wish for renewed hope…” but not ‘Thunderstruck’ from AC/DC’s 1990 (kind of not) classic album ‘The Razors Edge’ — “Thunder (ah-ah, ah-ah-ah), Thunder (ah-ah, ah-ah-ah)…” because that would be dumb.

However, none of that scary stuff actually happened, but just the threat was real enough that a lot of people who reserved their spots around Main Street backed out at the last minute. Not my family, though. This was the second year I took part in the Event, the last time was almost 15-years ago, when I tried to sell my six-month old son, Victor, and his baby car-chair for $150. I had no takers, but there were lots of ‘oohs and awes’ and pointing and laughing.

This time my sons and I basically emptied our basement of stuff and tried to sell it all at my parents home. Quintin sold his stuff — books, little games, tiny toys, and some backpacks that were in good shape, for a total of $88. My stuff — I can’t even remember what I put up for sale — came out to $120.

…anyway, the streets were wet, the crowds were smaller than last year, but a lot of stuff changed basements. So now, just click on the first photo to get the carousel going — remember, comments are always welcome.