Sunday, July 31, 2016

It's the Pitts

Huh?

by Lee Pitts

 In the May 30 edition of the Auction Exchange, there was an ad celebrating the Midwest Auctioneer Roundup contest in Shipshewana, Indiana.

There were pictures of the winners, contestants – and one precious little 3- or 4-year-old girl with her hands covering her ears.

My sentiments exactly.

I’ve spent my adult life around auctions, and I loved every minute, but I’m paying the price now. As a youngster I could hear a bug walking across the kitchen floor, but I’m losing my hearing now and I know why.

It was having my head right next to speakers for 43 years. I knew it would happen, but what could I do? Auctions put food on our table.

My wife noticed it before I did. She’d say something, and I’d reply, “Not today, maybe next week.”

And then she’d yell, “I asked you if you fed the dog.”

So now my standard reply to everything she says is, “Huh?”

 I’ve worked with a lot of different auctioneers in my life, and I’ve noticed that the younger they are, the higher they turn up the volume. I would just remind beginning auctioneers: The clock that ticks the loudest doesn’t always keep the best time.

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