Grandpa Could Never Drive Past A Place Like This
Grandpa LanceAround, my father, has passed on. I miss him very much. Today would have been his 79th birthday.
On Saturday, I thought about Grandpa a lot. We were shopping for some old items to create a Harry Potter room in one of our vacation rental homes. We discovered the 192 Flea Market on Hwy. 192 less than five miles from Disney World. My father would have loved this place.
A Huge Garage Sale Every Weekend
Grandpa could never drive past a flea market or a garage sale. When I was 12, Grammy & Grandpa bought a house in the middle of Souderton, PA. I suspect they chose this particular home because in the back was a huge, old barn. The home was constructed in 1913 and the barn was originally used by the Dorn family who were blacksmiths. But Grandpa LanceAround would use it to store his ever growing catalogue of things he purchased at every yard sale or flea market he could never drive past.
Although undiagnosed, I know that Grandpa had OCD. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from your family is like him.
Everything Under The Sun
Now, you can find reality TV shows that specialize in showing how OCD can affect families. For us, it was just a natural part of our lives knowing that every nook and cranny in our home and barn would quickly fill up with unknown treasures, no matter how many times we tried to clean them out.
These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I walked past the 400 dealer booths at the 192 Flea Market. The booths were filled with everything you would expect to find at a huge flea market. In addition, there were things indiginous to our corner of the world–like Disney souvenirs, Florida T-shirts, luggage and so forth.
I did not know that when Grandpa would come to visit the LanceAround family in Florida, he would take the children to this Flea Market. Number One Son told me about it as we visited the flea market this Saturday.
We bought some uniquely shaped small “potion” bottles for a couple of quarters from a young girl who was manning the booth for her parents. I gave her a dollar tip as I reminisced about the time when I was young and I had to sit at my father’s booth at a flea market while dad tried to supplement his income. It didn’t work out too well because dad would often buy more from the other flea market vendors then he would sell!
I used to really hate being dragged to that flea market every weekend when I was younger. Now, tears come to my eyes and there’s a lump in my throat as I realize that I would give anything, ANYTHING, to be able to sit with my father at a flea market for just one more day.
I love you dad!
192 Flea Market Prices
4301 W. Vine Street
Kissimmee, FL 34746
www.192FleaMarketPrices.com
Lance Around Orlando 