Epilogue Blood Farm 8
Uncle’s
Auctions is …northeast out of Mechanic Falls (Maine) toward West Minot but one
turns left halfway up then bares right after a bit and …keeps going to just
when one is sure one is lost… to come upon a farm on the left with a
hand-painted-in-white on an old board SIGN… on a stick by the road reading
“UNCLE’S”. The farm consists of an
old Civil War era farm house connecting through an attached shed labyrinth to
an equally old barn that has a companion but newer 1900’s barn to the left of
it. THIS barn is the “auction
hall”. A larger than usual dirt
and mud parking area is before these barns. On auction days a folding sign, again hand painted in white,
is set up below the “UNCLE’S” sign and reads “AUCTION TODAY”.
On
those days not only is “someone there” but the farm yard is active with trucks,
men, a few women and a local catering van. On other days there is nothing in sight and no one…
excepting the auctioneer’s wife inside the farm house watching television… is
there. “I CAN HAVE HIM CALL YOU
LATER IF YOU WANT.” stated by the wife is what one gets if inquiring at the
farm house on a non-auction day.
Uncle’s is, in short, a very, very low key, low profile, rural Maine
family run auction company that has …weekly – bi-weekly – monthly “when we FEEL
like it” auctions. Locals follow
Uncle’s. A few out of area dealers
do too. That’s about it.
ON
an auction day beginning “after lunch” and before the 3:00 PM “pre-auction”
preceding the 5:00 PM “auction”… local trucks with local men arrive and line up
politely with their truck beds exposing the …treasure (read rubbish) they “HAVE
BROUGHT TO SELL”… in the pre-auction WITH THE HOPE that Uncle himself will
select a few “better” items to fill out his “auction” at five. Rain or snow on the day of the auction
diminishes “turn out” for the pre-auction. Otherwise it’s a “GO” especially if by some FLUKE a rubbish
load actually DOES HAVE “something good” and that sets of an ever growing crowd
for the five o’clock auction AND at the catering van. The following day, after a “something good” turned up at
Uncle’s auction, Maine antiquarian gossip churns out “a hum in the trade” for
the WHOLE WEEK. Otherwise, one
never hears ANYTHING about “Uncle’s”.
I
know of and about Uncle’s. I have
attended… or at least “pre-viewed”… the main auctions… sometimes. I am in contact with dealers who “know
all about it” (Uncle’s current or latest auction). It is one of many similar auction companies in the
state. Do not under estimate
them. I do not.
For
the contents of Blood Farm… and its disappearance… Uncle’s is the key. The contents of Blood Farm falls off
the edge of the earth at Uncle’s.
It is the bottom rung on the ladder of Alice’s “then it is gone”. It is a ladder of thievery. The top rung is Mr. Lawyer. He “HAS” Blood Farm through the
mother’s estate (“trusted”) and it is retuned back to him after the trust
expires… to be part of all of the rest of the funds in the estate… under his
watch. The second rung is Mr.
Lawyer’s brought in pet auctioneer who… knows in seconds exactly the treasure
trove he sees but says nothing and …down plays it all; “DON’T WORRY I’LL GET
this rubbish filled fire trap ALL CLEANED OUT”. HE begins a mental dance of musical chairs right away for
there is simply too much there to “fail” meaning “to abscond with”. His thievery is careful and
selective. He has his own crew to
do the clean out. They do their
work unsupervised and their thievery is opportunist. But the estate is SO big and SO full, he needs …trusted…
help to cover ALL of the possible selective thievery. Uncle’s uncle is… trusted. HE is careful and selective TOO. HE has a crew too.
THEY are opportunists TOO.
Little is said. EVERYTHING…
EVERY THING… is “cleaned out”.
Two
trucks before lunch everyday go into Uncle’s barns full and… one comes out
empty and “goes back”. That is
filled and “goes to the coast”.
Meanwhile the crews …working alone and separated… “have opportunities”
they take. Uncle is there watching
for opportunities himself and those go “into the truck”. HE watches the unloading of the trucks
in the barns …as best he can. The
pet auctioneer is “trusted” with Uncle’s to “sell that stuff” they truck to his
barns. But: There is soooo much stuff… it’s hard to
watch all of it… all the time…
especially if … anyone of them didn’t “see it” to begin with. The auctioneer has his hands full,
Uncle has his handful and… the crew has
THEIR HANDS, pockets, pants, boots and hats FULL TOO. Just like rows of dominos falling down toward the edge of
the earth, the contents of Blood Farm… vanishes. Oh… there are piles of Blood Farm stuff here, there and all
over… should anyone ask anyone.
But no one does and it wouldn’t amount to anything anyway because …no
one actually knows what was actually in Blood Farm except Alice and… she didn’t
write anything down (that anyone has ever seen) AND …is dead.
I
did start previewing Uncle’s auctions right away. I continued that for two years and now have slacked
off. They sold plenty from Blood
Farm slowly, steadily and quietly.
I slacked off because they slacked off. It’s over.
These days Blood Farm contents is scattered all over the state “for
sale” in “antiques shops”. It just
doesn’t say “Blood Farm” on it. As
I stood with the fire chief… who was chewing down his last donut… all of the
above and its probability passes through my mind. I understood what the fire chief had just told me …very
well.
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