Auction fever

Whenever I hear an auctioneer a rush just goes through my body.  The sing-song voice of the auctioneer is mesmerizing.  It's in my blood you see when my dad turned forty he went through what I would now call a mid-life crisis.  He announced to my family that he was going to auctioneering school in Missouri and we would have to do chores while he was gone.  We were shocked! Our dad was going to leave the farm for two weeks without mom!  That was unheard of and to top it off he was going to fly in an airplane to get there.  My dad was deathly afraid of flying but nothing was going to stop him from achieving his dream.
While he was gone we had to step it up around the farm making sure that the 200 - 300 hogs and 50 cows were well taken care of including feeding, birthing, health care, etc.  It seemed like our dad would never get back but soon he was back and with a renewal on life.
My dad was excited to put his new skills to work.  He practiced day and night.  I would often hear him in the basement long before the sun rose in the morning auctioning every stick of wood that he threw in the wood stove.  When we were getting ready to eat dinner at night the food and dishes were sold over and over.   While working in the barn the livestock sold for an exorbitant amount.  He chanted the tongue twister, "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers" over and over again dedicated to perfecting his new found skill.  We were even sold to the lady in the red shirt and the man in the blue hat although they never claimed their prize.
Finally, he had his chance and our family rallied around him doing their part to support his dream.  My brother was the ring master, I was the clerk, my mom and sisters took care of registration/ check out.  The auctions were a lot of work but so much fun.
Those auction days spent with my dad and watching him fulfill a life long dream were great memories.  My dad isn't a man that will sit you down to fill you with words of wisdom but I did learn  lot by just watching how he chooses to live his life.
I learned that your never too old to fulfill your dreams!
So, when my daughter got married a few years ago on the farm it was only natural that before the  dollar dance we asked him to auction off the first dance with the bride and groom.  To my daughter's chagrin her new husband was sold for more money than her.