Today I was cajoled into taking a drive to the Columbus Farmers Market in lovely Columbus, NJ.
Oh hell, who am I kidding. I didn't need to be cajoled.
The Columbus Farmers Market is a mix of produce, used junk, cheap clothing, and everything else. I am not sure if these places are unique to the East coast, specifically PA, NJ, and MD, or if they are a nationwide thing. When I was living in the Midwest, there were lots of "antique barns", but those weren't scrappy places like these flea markets. I picked up a pile of 60s-era LIFE magazines, which I plan on scouring for interesting ads.
The current camera phone I use is 2.1MP, which is the same resolution of my first digital camera back around 2002 (which was bought refurbished). While the "real" digital camera takes higher resolution pictures, you can't beat a camera phone for discretion. Here's some snapshots from the day. (Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a covert photo of the porno mag and DVD stand, which had a box with the label "One Dollar Porno Mags", nor of the couple sorting through the crates of Playboys while their kids waited nearby in a stroller, which they at least turned away from the porno table.)
In the flea market area, people sell stuff from the back of their cars. Truthfully, there's a lot of crap.
Keeping the spirit of the 8-track mind alive:
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Unfortunately, this probably didn't survive the recent digital television transition:
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There were a few questionable items in the flea market area, such as this:
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Inside the sheds, most of the items for sale are new. For some reason, there are many vendors selling multipacks of socks. Next time, I'm just going to do a photographic study in socks for sale.
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If you're tired of a boring toilet brush, you can class up your bathroom with these beauties:
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There are objects at the market that just make you stop and wonder, "How did that wind up for sale in the middle of New Jersey?" Today's "how did that get here" product was packages of Japanese Tide. (Sorry, no Mr. Sparkle.)
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At the past-date, half-price newsstand inside, there was a mural that was a slight copyright infringement. Here's Bender from Futurama picking Homer Simpson's pocket, while Cartman from South Park shoplifts, followed by Family Guy's Stewie and Brian sharing a blunt.
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If you get hungry, there are lots of food choices. (Although that oil probably hasn't been changed in a while.)
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And while most customer and vendors are probably satisfied with their Columbus Farmers Market experience, there's always a dissenter.
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3 comments:
We were in jersey over the weekend.
Went to the ritz to see MOON.
Thumbs up. Very 2001-solarisy.
I didn't even know there was a Columbus, NJ, despite going to college just a half-hour north.
The sock multipack phenomenon is intriguing. There are several set ups of Mexican ladies selling large varieties of sock multipacks on the street here in Rogers Park, Chicago. Sometimes you can also get tamales and mango.
I think Columbus, NJ is one of those towns that evolved out of new housing developments in the area, actually. It probably wasn't there 20 years ago.
In addition to sock multipacks, there were also panty and bra multipacks. But I'd say sock multipacks outnumbered them 10-to-1.
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