First Monday Trade Days in Canton: A Slice of East Texas Life

Today I woke up expecting to revel in my first weekend at home in five weeks, as my last 4 weekends have been spent in Northern California, Nashville and Chicago (twice). I reacquainted myself with the dogs, looked around and realized I have a lot to do around the house before a certain visitor comes to town next weekend.

Then I put the top down on the car, picked up coffee and breakfast and hit the road for Canton, a town about an hour east of Dallas. On the first weekend of every month, Canton hosts the "First Monday Trade Days," a gigantic flea market. I wasn't so much interested in shopping today as I was in soaking in the people and the atmosphere and snapping some photos. The weather was beautiful (if a bit warm for the first day of October) and the ride flew by quickly.

I noticed a new trend on this visit--groups of women shopping together while wearing matching t-shirts, like this one:



("What happens in Canton stays in Canton.")

I pity the child who will be forced to wear this outfit:



Although most of the people one encounters in Canton are friendly, it is important to know before you go that you will not find a Democratic National Convention there anytime soon, as these photos demonstrate:







Lots of people bring their dogs . . . I would bring mine, but they are too active to visit Canton:





There is a certain type of booth in Canton that I find repulsive, but for which I am grateful, because it sucks in shoppers who have no interest in the kinds of things I like to see, leaving more room for me to roam around:



Fairies threw up in this booth.



Someone ate every color of cotton candy and then threw up in this booth.

This display, however, was so cool it nearly inspired me to buy a guitar just so I could learn to play it:



I photographed this booth because it had the same name I used in high school French class:



And I liked this booth, with its typewriter-key jewelry:



The proprietor of the typewriter-key place told me she lives outside Beaumont and was evacuated due to Hurricane Rita. She hasn't been home yet and has been staying in Tyler, Texas, so she is temporarily out of extra typewriter keys.

As always, there was also quality eavesdropping in Canton. Two exchanges in particular amused me:

Exchange Number One--At a display of tacky plastic patterned sunglasses:

Woman #1: I love these black and white checkered ones. They will go with all my black and white clothes!

Woman #2: Just because they "go" doesn't mean they're good.

Exchange Number Two--Walking past a confectioner's stand:

Wife: What's over there?

Husband: Fudge. Keep walkin'.

These things appealed to the girly side of me:







The proprietor of this last booth, with its beautiful Martha-Stewart like plate cabinet, was particularly suspicious of my photography. However, she would not address it directly, instead asking me in a mean voice, "Is there something I could help you with?" My attempt to charm her by saying in my most friendly of voices that I love the color she chose to paint this cabinet fell on deaf ears, and I think she's the one who turned me in to Canton Authorities, prompting a loudspeaker announcement about photography being prohibited without a booth owner's permission. By that time, however, I had all the pictures I wanted anyway.

When I wasn't taking illegal photographs, I saw other things that appealed to the whimsical side of me:





I'm a sucker for a cute and jam-packed picnic basket (or suitcase, as the case may be)!

These things I found somewhat disturbing:







What did I buy? A small gift for a special someone, and this lovely lamp:



A fabulous day, all in a brief span of time that permitted me to arrive home in time for the Cubs' 3 pm game!