Oceanfront Auction

Few things expose a private life as much as a public auction.
If it involves a house and its contents, anyone who shows for the event up is allowed to see the items, inspect the home and walk the premises. In almost any other type of situation, unless you had an invitation from the owner, such behavior would be called trespassing.
You can learn a lot about the former owner, maybe more than they would want you to know, by getting an up-close look at their stuff. Maybe, by chatting with others who attend, you can even find out why their stuff is being offered to the highest bidder.
Auctions can be held to sell off estates of the deceased, seized property (by the government) or foreclosed property (by a bank), so sometimes there is a story involving death, criminal behavior or financial ruin to go along with the bidding. Which can make for a fairly interesting afternoon, especially if someone who is owed money by the former owner happens to attend.
This past Saturday, an auction was held for a waterfront home and property in Jonesport. The 3.2-acre parcel, formerly owned by Robert and Marshia Brown, is next to Sandy River Beach and overlooks Roque Island. Leading up to the weekend, advertisements for the auction were printed in Down East and Maine magazines.
According to the July 2010 online newsletter of the local Port and Starboard Yacht Club, there is no scandal or tragedy behind the auction of the Browns' property. They simply are selling off most of their worldly items so they can move onto a 36-foot sailboat that Bob Brown has refurbished and then live on it while they sail around the eastern seaboard. So much for controversy.
They are divesting themselves of quite a bit. The auctioneer's list of items offered for bids, posted online by D.A. Folsom Auction Service, Inc., is extensive. There's a main house, a garage with studio, and a boat house, not to mention a backhoe, a GMC truck, a forklift, boats, machine shop equipment, assorted tools and a 1972 Mercedes Benz. Housewares, numerous paintings (several by Marshia Brown), a mink coat, household electronics, furniture, clothing - the list goes on. More than 400 items in all.
How much it all sold for I don't know. I haven't seen any reports about the outcome. Not all auctions result in acceptable bids but, given the economy, I bet someone got a nice piece of shorefront property - and a whole lot of other stuff- for a relatively decent price.