Scott DeSmit

I have a friend named Rachel.

She tells me, “I’m a good person!”

She reminds me of many people, people whose best traits go unseen, buried beneath the rubble that is their lives.

She tells me “I AM fun!” And she is.

She doesn’t drink or do drugs and she’s about the only person I know who can go out to a bar and dance and mingle and feel at ease without the benefit of mind-altering substances.

She administers a Facebook yard sale site, which actually is where the idea for this column came from.

Sometimes I sit on my porch a lot and, cringe, I look at my phone.

And in the mental health-altering pandemic, Facebook yard sales and Facebook video posts of people beating each other up and “Karens gone wild” became my addiction, one I am slowly weening myself from.

The yard sale sites, well, make me laugh. All clothes are “barely worn!” Or “tags still on!” People sell trinkets and baubles and coffee mugs, knick-knacks, things that you wouldn’t think anyone would want.

Yet, they do.

And, with COVID, came the term “porch pickup.”

Who? I said to myself, who would drive to a stranger’s house, sometimes in the dark of night, to pick up a coffee mug from someone’s front porch?

And who would want strangers coming to their house?

I realized that Facebook yard sale sites were needed.

During the early months of COVID, we weren’t allowed to have yard sales and garage sales, an addiction for many during the long summer months.

It’s just one of the many, many things we missed during lockdown.

Facebook exploded with buyers and sellers, from mere trinkets to cars and trucks and boats.

Well, good for them, I said. It makes people happy.

Then, Rachel posted something. For free. To “whoever needed it.”

I saw similar posts. I saw people giving advice, helping new mothers and families. Posts telling us about the next food drive or where they could buy toilet paper.

I saw posts from people looking for work, any work, just to make an extra buck.

I didn’t see any of the vile posts you normally see on Facebook.

People were kind to each other, thoughtful and helpful.

Despite our division, despite the perception that we have lost connection somehow, what was going on was true community. A community of strangers allowing other strangers to come into their lives, to help each other when we are down.

People were giving away food and diapers, furniture and lamps, and even bathroom towels.

All you had to do was ask and someone would respond to a person in need.

It gave people an outlet, a place to go, even if, like actual yard sales, it was only to browse in hopes of finding a treasure.

Rachel sells a lot of items on Facebook. She makes crafts and does a wonderful job and sells them at a steal. Her items are immaculate and when she’s not selling she is administering the site, helping those who need help and steering some in the right direction.

“Don’t forget to say what a beautiful, wonderful woman I am!” she said when I asked her permission to write about her. “Wait. Fact check that! LOL!”

Yes, she is a beautiful, wonderful woman.

A good soul, like many of the people out there.

(Scott DeSmit is a general assignment reporter for The Daily Iberian. He can be reached at desmitmail@yahoo.com)