NASCAR..Michigan..and $20 for Elvis
John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
BROOKLYN, Mich. – For nearly two years, even before the recession became “official,” we’ve heard of just how tough the economy is in the state of Michigan.
Tens of thousands of out-of-work employees, thousands of foreclosed homes, abandoned buildings and businesses, people filling homeless shelters, food pantries going with empty shelves due both to smaller donations and larger demand.
What does this have to do with NASCAR? In the whole big scheme, not a lot. But it helps put into perspective why race tickets at Michigan International Speedway have been such a hard sell for nearly the last two years.
Still, given the decent showing, I have to commend the fans that showed up for Sunday’s Carfax 400. While the stands weren’t full, they were filled far better than some other tracks on the circuit we’ve seen this year, some that looked close to being ghost towns of sorts.
I give track president Roger Curtis and his staff a tip of my hat for their tireless efforts, not to mention cutting ticket prices and other overtures to show folks going through a hard stretch that someone truly cares.
I also wanted to impart something that I’ve never seen before – and yet another reflection of just how bad the economy is up in the Wolverine State.
As I drove to and from the track to my hotel on Friday and again on Saturday, I couldn’t help but be struck by something: the number of – call them what you want: garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, block sales or what have you.
Regardless of the correct moniker, what I saw were dozens of folks or households selling used wares in front of their homes, businesses, apartment buildings and the like, trying to unload some of their old clothes, tools, toys and so forth, simply to try and make a few extra bucks – perhaps enough bucks to mean the difference between making it and not, at least for this week or month.
I first noticed stands with their hand-made signs inviting folks to stop by and check out what was for sale on the way to the track Friday morning. You could barely drive a mile or more – and we’re talking in rural Michigan, too – without seeing some type of yard or garage sale.
With each sale I passed, I started counting. By the time I got back to my hotel on Friday night, I had counted over 50 yard and garage sales in and around southeast lower Michigan.
Saturday morning on the way to the track (I switched hotels and locations Friday night, so I got a totally different perspective this time), I stopped counting – due to my sadness at seeing such abject poverty caused by the recession, forcing people to part with belongings both valuable and cheap – after I passed another 75 sales from where I was staying, roughly 45 miles from the track.
That’s well over 125 yard and garage sales across roughly 150 miles of roundtrip driving over the two days. I even saw a life-like statue of Elvis Presley for sale, with a $20 price tag – “or best offer” – prominently displayed as I drove by.
You know it’s a rough economy when tickets to NASCAR races are a hard sell, but when Elvis is going for 20 bucks or less, all I can say is I hope the recession comes to an end soon, that all the folks out of work in Michigan are able to find new jobs and that the spate of foreclosed homes comes to an end.
I’ll tell you, what I saw this weekend was a gut check and reality check. Sure, some of us may have it hard with layoffs, inability to find new fulltime jobs and the like, but trust me, I saw first-hand and up-close a lot of people that are having a much harder time.
Think of those folks today and hope their lives get back on an upward climb once again, because garage and yard sales are a hell of a way to make a few bucks, let alone a living.
Catch you Tuesday.
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