Antique time again…

Time for my annual antique show…in another town in Maryland.  It had been cancelled last year because of the virus.  And nobody knew whether anyone would even show up this year!  (As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about…they did!) 

I left home wearing black stirrup pants and a brown turtleneck blouse, pantyhose and my trusty old flats, the same way I’ve dressed for the last many years.  Exhibitors have to arrive early and wait in line till the registration desk opens…a fabulous chance for socializing.  I was wearing a mask, and carrying my purse.  

One of the female exhibitors came over to stand by me, and we struck up a conversation.  Beginning with her comment that “Us girls have to stick together, don’t we?”   Soon there were three of us girls (60+ in age), talking up a storm.  No topics in particular…weather, where we live, antiques, and so on.  It got interesting when a guy (known to one of the girls) came up and addressed us all as “ladies.”  He asked my first name, and I was so very thankful that it’s now a female name.  No fake name needed. “Pleased to meet you, “Ma’am.”  He shook my hand, and I had to remember to do it gently!  Our conversation was cut short when the line started to move…”You girls all have a good day!”

Once inside and set up at my area, there was no change from usual in how the nearby dealers who know my birth gender treated me.  But the visitors (and those who didn’t know me) generally they assumed I was female and used appropriate terms, or in some cases, none at all.  I had brought my own lunch in order to avoid the crowded lunch area frequented by unmasked attendees…and likewise my own dinner.  It was a boring evening back in the hotel room, but not worth the risk of being out among unmasked-and-likely-unvaccinated people.

Restrooms were a possible issue.  As I know some of the female vendors, using the women’s room was not an option.  Dehydration helps, as can knowing where the least-populated men’s room is (along with locking my purse in the trunk of the car which was parked in line-of-sight with the front door and the attendant.)   So, no issue there…

And no issues at the hotel, either.  It was pleasant to be addressed properly as “Ms. Sherman” by the desk staff.

The second day was similar to the first, and it was/is so wonderful to be interpreted as female by strangers.  When the show was over, I packed the car to head back to the hotel, having had another successful antique weekend…  I stopped by the front desk to pay for a snack and was pleasantly surprised to be addressed as “young lady.”  I could get used to this…

Mandy