I accidentally bid on a cow at a livestock auction today. How did this happen, you might ask? Well, every Thursday there is a Livestock auction near my house, where they auction off sheep, goats, cows, horses, and pigs. You sit in this large room, on wooden bleachers, while they parade the animals through one by one. The auctioneer is yelling and hollering numbers, while people hold up their hands to bid. Anyone can go as spectators and just watch all the action. The kids loved it! We sat there for an hour and watched all sorts of breeds of livestock baaaaaa, and maaaa, and mooooo, and get sold off to new owners.
Then, right in the middle of a bid for a black cow, I excitedly saw a friend walk in the door. I lifted my hand and waved---and suddenly I was a bidder. Crap.
The whole room looked at me. The auctioneer stopped the bid. "Maaam, this cow is yours for $160.00, unless someone else bids on it." Crap. Then he says,"This is how we bid around here, so unless your going to take this cow home, I suggest you keep your arms down." Then the man behind me bid $162.00. Saved!
I don't think I'll be back there for awhile. I'm not one to get easily embarrassed, but this time I really felt the fool. Lesson learned: keep your hands down at a live auction. Any live auction. You might end up with a cow, or something worse.
