A Mother of a Flea Market

Friday Jan. 20

Today, I am off to the Fleamasters Flea Market, advertised as Fort Meyers’ largest flea market and one of the largest INDOOR flea markets in SW Florida. It has 900 dealers and about a dozen walk up food vendors where you can get everything from lobster rolls to fried ‘gator tail.

I get there, and right away I can tell you this is no “ordinary” flea market by Wisconsin standards, where  most flea markets there are antiques and vintage collectibles. This flea market has vendor who carry a little bit of everything, from new to antique. And there’s lots of people selling produce, potting plants, and cut flowers. The new stuff is mostly tools and household goods, all stuff from China and displayed in their large cardboard shipping cartons. There’s T-Shirts, men’s and women’s clothes and fashion accessories (belts, wallets, purses, etc.) There’s lot of people selling watches, though these are all $10 Chinese fashion watches and also factory overstocks and closeouts by the usual suspects: Casio, Citizen, Croton, and of course that most flagrent manufacture of junk watches masquerading as a quality timepiece, Invicta. There’s also lots of books, DVD, video games, and the like. Every kind of imaginable conveyance device is here too, from wheelchairs to Segways to mobility scooters (Rascals, etc.) right on up to Cadillac Eldorados.

The sheer size of the place is, of course, staggering. There are three main “halls,” and I can only imagine that that is place was a fairgrounds once upon a time. But who know? Now, there is a “Grand Pavillion” (and this is huge misnomer; there’s nothing “grand” about it) and a North Hall, and South Hall. The two “hall” have rows and columns, with the rows being delineated by color (blue, yellow, orange, red) and the columns delineated by letter (A,B, C, etc.) so that with a map, you can more or less find your way around. The Grand Pavilion, meanwhile, is divided into compass points and booth numbers. I guess the Grand Pavilion is the place most dealers aspire to be, and I’m certain the rents are higher here, too. I have two main places I want to check out: a book dealer and a used bike dealer, and they are right next to one another.

Randy, of “Randy’s Bikes” has a good selection of bikes ranging from $40 rustbuckets, right on up to brand new coasters and cruisers going for $299. I eyeball a couple of cruisers in the $100 price range but  do not make a decision today.

Then it’s on to the book dealer, who is a very nice fellow and who apparently does books full time, selling here at the flea market Frid-Sun. and spending the rest of week scouting for books and selling on eBay under the user name “booksamazing.” I buy a couple of books from him, including a Carl Hiaason mystery (“Stormy Weather”) and “Isaac’s Storm,” by Erik Larson, about the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, among other places, and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history.

 For lunch, I have a lobster roll and a Pepsi at one of the food vendor ($12) and it is real lobster and one of the most delicious lobster rolls I have ever had.

I come home, and have a little nap, and my friend Catwoman calls and is in the area, so I invite her over. We end up going over the bridge to Cape Coral to the Marina to enjoy a sunset and some pub grub at an outdoor café. I have a fried clam platter/beer, and my friend has some wings/water. She tells me she would like a dress watch because she is hunting for a new job and wants something nice for job interviews. I tell her I can fix her up.

Back to the condo for a little TV viewing, and then to bed.

Expenses: lunch, $12; Books $5; Dinner $20. Total: $37

Bruce