Funny Story

So, I found this posting on Craigslist for a treadmill, an ellipsoid and an ab machine all for $100, and thought sweet. I asked if he'd sell separately, he said yes but really wanted to get rid of them all. We offered the guy $70, he accepted. Sweet. So we go borrow a truck and head over. (He said we could come at noon or after 5. He texted me again asking if I could come at noon... He sent this text at 12:40... wha?)

We get there, and the guy is standing at the door, watching. He also asks right away if we have the money. (If you can tell, by now, my sketchball meter is starting to climb just a little.) Anyway, he takes us to where the machines are - outside. And yes, it's been raining here. He goes away for a second, and I hop on them to see how they work. Two are good, but the treadmill has no resistance, so if the battery doesn't come on, it's a waste. Anyway, we just load them all up... or should I say, Jeff and the guy's old mexican plumber struggle to dredge them through the mud for like 30 minutes. They are just squeezing in the ab machine, when some guy walks up and says "What's going on here?" or "Is there a problem here?" something like that. I just assumed he's making convo, but then, no, we find out these machines are all HIS. Not the guy who's trying to sell them to us. (I'm not exaggerating, it took at least a half hour just to hoist the beasts onto the truck.) The two guys start fighting, and then go off in Spanish... and Jeff and I are just standing there, whistling Dixie while we wait for them. Finally Jeff tells them he knows what they're saying and asks them to hurry up and make a decision. It seems to me, like, 3 times they come to a decision, then it just keeps going back and forth, like we aren't even standing there. Finally I said, sorry we will not be giving them 100 bucks, they can take a machine off if they want, but there's no chance for more money, so hop to. After MORE discussion about which machine he wants, we finally get it settled and he picks the heaviest one to be unloaded. I told him he'd have to get it off, and they just rip it off of there and throw it around. (The machine that he kept insisting was worth $3000, by the way. Well, not anymore, buddy.)

The best part about all of this, is that after that ridiculous and illegal interchange, after Jeff breaking his back to get it all, after spending hours cleaning and rearranging a spot for these machines in our spare room... they wouldn't fit through our small 1960 hall and doorways. So, I've got an ellipsoid that now sits in my living room, but by george, I have it and I'm using it!