Alright, let’s talk about this ‘fair in the square’ thing. It wasn’t really a big plan, just sort of happened when I decided to clear out my garage last summer. Had tons of old tools, bits of furniture, just junk really, taking up space.
First, I just piled everything onto the driveway. Looked like a dragon’s hoard, if dragons collected rusty saws and chipped mugs. My neighbor, Dave, came over, curious. He had some stuff too. Then Mrs. Higgins from down the street mentioned she had boxes of old books. Suddenly, it wasn’t just my junk pile anymore.
Getting Organized (Sort Of)
We figured, why not make a small event out of it? The little park square at the end of our block seemed perfect. Nobody really uses it much on Saturdays. So, the idea was born: a neighborhood clear-out, right there in the square.
Making it ‘fair’ became the tricky part. Who gets which spot? Dave wanted the shady bit under the big oak. Mrs. Higgins needed space near the path for her book tables. I just wanted my stuff gone. We didn’t have a formal system.
- Step 1: We walked the square. Eyeballed the space. Not very scientific, I know.
- Step 2: We just kind of agreed. Dave got the shade because he showed up first with his pickup truck full of garden gnomes. Mrs. Higgins got the path access because, well, she’s Mrs. Higgins, and her books needed visibility.
- Step 3: I took the spot right in the middle, full sun, because most of my stuff was large junk anyway. Didn’t need prime real estate.
The Day Itself
Then Saturday came. A few more neighbors joined in last minute. One guy, Mark, showed up late and wanted Dave’s shady spot. Bit of grumbling there. We told him, look, Dave was here at 7 AM, claimed it fair and square, first come, first served. That seemed to settle it, mostly. It wasn’t perfectly planned, but it felt… okay. Everyone had a space, even if it wasn’t their ‘dream spot’.
We didn’t draw lines on the grass or use measuring tapes. It was more about common sense and a bit of give-and-take. People set up their blankets and tables. Buyers wandered through. Nobody was policing the boundaries too hard. If someone’s table crept a foot over an imaginary line, nobody really cared.
What I learned?
Well, ‘fair in the square’ for us wasn’t about perfect equality. It was about making it work without too much fuss. We started with a problem (too much junk), found a space (the square), and figured out the sharing part as we went. We managed it by:
- Showing up early if you wanted a preferred spot.
- Talking to each other, explaining needs (like shade, or path access).
- A general agreement that ‘good enough’ was okay.
- Handling latecomers with a simple ‘first come, first served’ rule.
It wasn’t a slick operation. It was messy, like the stuff we were selling. But by the end of the day, most of the junk was gone, people had chatted, and nobody felt cheated. Felt pretty fair, considering it all started with just me wanting to clean my garage. That practical, on-the-ground fairness? That’s what ‘fair in the square’ ended up meaning for us that day. Just making do and being reasonable.
