Cinco Del Mayo Girl 

Started a lovely May morning with this week's American Top 40. We stayed in the 80s, but hopped back a few years to 1983. Hits during early May of that year included "What a Feeling!" by Irene Cara from that spring's blockbuster musical Flashdance, "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Let's Dance" by David Bowie, "Little Red Corvette" by Prince, "Der Komissar" by After the Fire, "Even Now" by Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band, "Solitare" by Laura Brannigan, "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto, and two numbers likely inspired by the 80s' obsession with technology, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx and "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby.

That week's number one song also came from the year's biggest album. Eddie Van Halen contributed some hot guitar licks to one of the most popular tunes from Michael Jackson's smash Thriller album, "Beat It."

I was out the door as soon as the show ended. It was a gorgeous day for the first yard sale/farm market run of the year. East Clinton Avenue in Oaklyn was having its annual two-day street-wide yard sale. I was a little disappointed that many people seemed to be waiting for tomorrow for their sales. I did finally turn up four of the most recent Maisie Dobbs books, An Incomplete Revenge, The Mapping of Love and Death, Pardonable Lies, and A Lesson In Secrets for two dollars for the lot. (Lesson In Secrets was a hardback that appeared to have come from a library in Florida.)

I heard what sounded like someone singing "For Once In My Life" coming from somewhere in the distance, behind Oaklawn Avenue. I lead the bike slowly down the steep stone steps to Newton River Park. It looked like some sort of fair or event going on across the river. I rode around to the other side to discover people preparing for some kind of walkathon to benefit cancer research. I made my way through throngs of parents, children, and lots of dog walkers listening to live musicians and putting tickets in for basket raffles.

I made my best yard sale find at a series of sales on Mansion Avenue, across the street from the Westmont Acme. Didn't see anything at the first sale, but the second had some collectible toys...including a beautiful, near-mint American Girl Josefina doll for $25! She was wearing her Party Dress without the black "Spencer" jacket and the light tan fringed boots and tan socks from her Shoes and Socks collection. Her long, silky black hair had been thrown up into a very messy ponytail, and her limbs were a little loose. Otherwise, she was fine, relatively clean and with no markings anywhere. Josefina is AG's hispanic historical character, a shy, sweet girl living with her father and sisters in 1824 New Mexico. I can't say she's my favorite character, but the doll is lovely, and her books are enjoyable. She's my only AG doll with earrings or with her particular face mold.

I placed Josefina in my tote bag and moved on to the first Collingswood Farm Market of the year. Boy, were they busy! The place was literally elbow-to-elbow in some spots. I could barely move around. There's a lot going on this weekend - Cinco Del Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, the beginning of the month, weather that's perfect for birthdays and barbecues. I finally managed to squeeze between customers long enough to pick up Smoked Cheddar Cheese from the dairy booth, as well as asparagus, spinach, radishes, carrots, and mushrooms.

Found one more yard sale in Collingswood on the way home. They were mostly selling children's clothes and toys, but I saw a table spread with pamphlets and magazines from the 70s and 80s filled with craft ideas and a pile of blue, white, and orange yarn. I bought one of the pamphlets with some nice shawl designs for a quarter and the yarn for $1.50.

I didn't have much money left by that point, so I just headed back to Oaklyn. I stopped by Dad's house on the way to say "hi" to whomever was around. Dad is away on a cruise ship job, but Jodie was in. David, my cousin Samantha's husband, was cleaning up Uncle Ken's gorgeous pale-blue vintage 50s car. They'd finally found someone who wanted to look at it. They couldn't afford to keep it after Uncle Ken's death last fall.

When I got in, I spent a quiet hour announcing my find to the AG Playthings Board for adult doll collectors and looking up Josefina's outfits. I don't have the money to buy lots of stuff for her right away, but I'll keep checking eBay and yard sales for her.

For once, I could understand why I was asked to come into work today. We were busy all afternoon long. If people weren't preparing for birthday parties or barbecues, they were having southern Kentucky Derby feasts or Mexican meals for Cinco Del Mayo. There were a few annoying customers later in the afternoon (including two women who held up the Express line with far more than they should have had and ended up returning a quarter of their orders). Otherwise, there were no major problems. My relief was an older woman (one of the few who works late) who was right on time. I grabbed strawberries (they won't be at the farm market for another week or so), bananas, and honey before heading home.