The process of loading out at the end of a market day is a bit like I would imagine the dismantling of a gypsy caravan, but members of a caravan tend to all be headed in the same direction while market vendors are headed to different places. If you're all headed out together, then one slow link in the chain delays the entire process. But if you're each headed your own way, then it's everyone for themselves.
Some vendors rush to get their vehicles at the earliest possible moment. Technically you're supposed to break everything down before you get your van so each vehicle spends as little time as possible on the street and things move along relatively smoothly. But few people follow the rules. At one market there's a line of vehicles waiting to come in as soon as the market ends. One guy consistently falls asleep in his truck while he's waiting, so someone has to gently nudge him awake when it's time to move.
We all tend to be friendlier and more patient on busy days than on slow ones. After a rainy day you feel soggy and poor, and you just want to go home. After a busy day you feel affluent and magnanimous, and it just doesn't matter as much if your day is 15 minutes longer.
I've seen vendors get into fights during the process of loading out. Someone sneaks into a spot that someone else has staked out. Everyone's tired, and it gets ugly. I tend to take my time packing up my stuff, to stay out of the fray and be able to pull my vehicle up right next to the booth.
1 comment:
I have to say that for me personally, after doing quite a few load outs; for you, for myself, and for others, it is my most loathed aspect of any market. It's just not fun, and it sometimes makes me want to throw myself on the ground whining and crying.
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