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The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 10, 1995 - B1

INSIDE SECTION B

COMMUNITY | CRIS LEYKAUF

EVENTS B2

_ON THE STREET.
STEPHANIE WIEBE

— Toilet —
troubles

T’S LATE _ Saturday
afternoon and the toilet breaks.
The chain has rusted away
from the inside lever and the
darn thing simply won’t flush.

This is certainly no tragedy, but clearly
it’s an event worth some attention. No
household can ignore a broken toilet,
Odds are, you’ve had a broken toilet. The
prime minister has had a broken toilet. At
some point, even Buckingham Palace has
had a broken toilet. It’s just one of those
‘common experiences we share as a
species,

But looking in.my tank, 1 suspect the

toilets of the queen and prime minister
were far simpler repair jobs. That’s only a
guess, mind you, since world leaders rare-
ly air their biffy troubles at press confer-
ences. But ] figure it’s a safe bet their
flush chains have not been previously
repaired with loops of fishing line.

Well, mine has. Some previous occupant
has painstakingly looped 60-pound-test

~line at-each end of my flush chain.

Now, if you should ever peek inside
your toilet tank — a moment every home-
owner eagerly looks forward to — you'll
see that the workings of a toilet flush me-
chanism are fairly simple. Flush handle
connects to chain, chain connects to
valve. .

So imagine my surprise to find one of
the greatest technological advances
separating my life from that of cro mag-
non is entirely dependent upon fishing
line. Let me tell you, it’s a humbling ex-
perience,

I am just as dumbstruck by the variety.
of toilet supplies in the stores. Bolts,
handles, valves, and chains — certainly
ours is a unique marketplace, holding
more consumer choices in toilet apparatus
than in shoes.

The toilet is still broken, the
store is closed, and a young,
smail-bladdered audience ex-
pectantly hovers nearby.

“Morons,” I mutter to myself, rifling through
the merchandise, "Morons, buffoons, and im-
beciles." I am annoyed that I have to spend
my valuable time choosing toilet pear. | am
annoyed that there is an industry manufactur-
ing such a selection. Mostly, I am annoyed
with whoever once bypassed this perfectly
good array in favour of fishing line,

But with a superior air, [ grab a sturdy chain
and flush-handle mere minutes before the
store closes. Back home, I stick my head deep
inside the toilct tank, and have a serious look
at this fishing-line bit,

I should point out here that 1 don’t live

. lone. have children, and they have friends.
The point of this little aside is to explain the
crowds of wide-eyed youngsters now milling
about the bathroom to see me shoving my face
in the toilet tank. I suddenly see this sight
through their eyes, and realize I may be the
topic of family dinner discussions in several
neighbourhood homes.

But for now, it’s back to the task at hand. A
snip here, a snip there, and the fishing line is
gone. The new handle twists on like a nut and
bolt. Now for the chain,

The chain should snap right into place. It
should, but it doesn’t. It’s too fat, too sturdy to
fit in the provided slots.

I sit back and mull over this development.
Morons, buffoons, and imbeciles, The. phrase
rolls inside my head like a chant, A mantra. —
But this is no time to rant and rave about past
repairs. The toilet is still broken, the’ store is
closed, and a young, small-bladdered audience
expectantly hovers nearby.

The solution is obvious, I reach into the
toolbox and grab # spool of 60-pound test-
line. . a

Tips from
the experts

“BETTER HOLD ON,” advises
Deborah Ritter, as she revs the
engine of her litle red car,
“We're going garage sale-ing,””
The advice is sound. We blast
through stop signs, do a few 40

- mph u-turns and slam on the

brakes to arrive at the first garage
sale of a sunny Saturday morming.

You thought shopping at garage
sales was a leisurely business?
Not for these pros, Ritter, 26, and
co-pilot Jackie Rioux, age 28, are
garage sale experts. And speed is
the name of the game,

**You got to get there fast, be-
fore they get cleared out,” say
Rioux. ‘TI just Iet Deb drive, and
then hold on for dear tife....watch
the stop sign!”’

Rioux and Ritter have been ga-
rage sale-ing for a few years now,
and they’ve Jearned a few tricks
in order to pick up the good
bargains,

And there are incredible
bargains out there, even in Ter-
race.

**One of my friends once found

a set of Royal Albert China — -

the Country Rose pattern — for
$10,” says garage sale shopper
Helen Haselmeyer. “That set is
worth about $1,000,"
Rioux and Ritter also have
stories about unbelievable finds.
“One sale had this colonial

_ cradle,” says Rioux. “I made a

bee line for it...and got it for $5!”
But she wams that if you don’t
get to the sales on time, you'll
never find any bargains,
Perhaps you've noticed all
those ‘No early birds please’

_ notices in garage sale ads,

‘Ignore ‘cm,’ advises Ritter,

She and Riovx show up some-
times an hour in advance of the
sale. And if the sale -has been
heavily advertised, then it’s their

org

whee

a

WHAT A HAUL — Deborah Ritter and Jackie Rioux coukin't

CLUTCHING HER FIND — J

_ High speed bargain chase

ackie Rioux isn't goliig to'let-go of this garage sale find. She picked —

up the porcelain platter for Just $1.50, And that wasn't even the best find of the moming.

first stop on Saturday moming,
“Those ones get cleared out

fast,”’ says Rioux. ~~

. Strategy is everything for these

two, .

~ “You plan your routes in ad-

vance,’’ says Rioux, who has the

even close the trunk of Deb's car after spending a Saturday

morning garage sale-ing.

Show a test for owners

WAGGING TAILS, — excited
barks and hyper children — that
was the Skeena Valley Kennel
Club's Fun Match on April 29.
Dog owners who didn’t get
yanked somewhere else by their
four-legged companions had a

choice of three categories to en-

ter. .

One was the fun ring — a
modified agility course. Owners
had to encourage their dogs over
jumps, across a raised planks,
through a tunnel and through a
wading pool. Oddly enough,
many dogs couldn’t see the pur-
pose in performing these ex-
ercises.

An obcdicnce category was also
offered, Owners tested their dog’s
abllity to follow commands, such
as heeling on a leash, staying
when told, and. coming when
called,

: The advanced obedicace classes
required retrieving a dumbbell
and ‘golag over various jumps

“when requested by the owner,

The final part of the day was

given over the conformation
category. Purebred dogs were
judged on appearance, tempera-
ment and soundness against the
standard issued by the Canadian
Kennel Club.

The Skeena Valley Kennel Club
was pleased at the number of
entrics for the show, some from
as far as Prince Rupert and Burns
Lake |

An English springer spaniel,
named Showyn’s Arm & Ham-
mer (Soda) and owned by
Tammy Dureau won Best in
Match.

Blackmate She is Simply Red
(Nell), a bullmastiff owned by
Roy Hackett won Best Puppy in
Match.

- And Fastest-in ‘the Fun Ring

went to a toy poodle called Onk-
mounts Princess Zoe (Zor),
owned by Donna Ziegler, ..

The Skeena Valley Kennel Club
thanks all the merchants who

"generously donated prizes for the
fun match. © rn

advange of being familiar with
street names, since she works for

~ = mthe past office 2h

_ We try and hit the good neigh-
bourhoods’ first, because they
usually have good junk, and they
don’t care if it goes cheap,’’ she
says,
One trick the duo have leamed

is to park in the driveway of the.

sale, Most shoppers usually aren’t

presumptuous enough to park:

there, and it's a much shorter
waik to the sale,

At the first sale on this Saturday
Rioux and Ritter make a few
good finds — a night stand for
$7.50 which Ritter plans to
repaint, and a baby jacket for 25
cents. _ .

The night stand was advertised
for $10 and Ritter offered $5,

“Normally you throw them a
price and they take it,?” she says.
"I can’t believe’ they wouldn't
take $5....but I guess $7.50 isn’t

d.’” . .

When you go to make an offer,
Rioux recommends that you have
the exact price that you want to

pay, held obviously in your hand.

“If they see the money, then
there’s a better chance they'll
take your offer,” says Rioux,

But if everything sees a bit
overpriced, and the owners won't
take your first offer, then don’t
waste time she says.

She and Ritter can ‘‘case”’ a ga-
tage sale in approximately two

S and do

tainutes. Remember, speed is
everything, because the bargain

of the century could be'at the next: ~~

sale,
We hit about 12 garage sales

that morning, and a fewkey.items

always showed up — abandoned

‘exercise equipment, baby clothes

and toys, and old dishes.

Both Rioux and Ritter pounced —
on any cute porcelain dishes and

containers they spotted, .

“These containers are great,’
_ Says Rioux, picking up a small
bowl with floral designs painted |

on the side, “You clean them up,

fill them with candy and use them

for gifts."?

At a later garage sale in Thom-
hill Rioux spot a little boys

BMX-style bike with’ training
wheels, Because she’s buying a

few other items at the sale, she

bargains the owner down to just
$5 for the bike. -

“That one’s definitely the best. _

bargain of the day,”’ she says.

“TY wish I'd spotted it first?” |

says Ritter,

You'd think with such competi-
tive attitudes, the two friends
would often end up in. battles,.
particularly when it comes to the
great finds. . . .

“‘Nah,”’ says Rioux, “We take
turns getting the good stuff.”’

Remember, she says, when it

. Comes to garage sale-ing, the
- thrill of the hunt js the real attrac-

tion.

IN YOU — This dalmation puppy was convinced he couldn't

fit through the tunnel at the fun ting in the dog show, But per-

sistence won out, and his owner fi

do it.

reed

nally persuaded him he could.

. 638-7283

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