Numbered paddles whipped the air, inciting the contagious urge to splurge at the 3rd annual benefit auction for the Ray Graham Association for the Handicapped last weekend. As the auctioneer pitched the glories of vacations, electronics, furs, a nose job and a 1990 Mazda Miata, the 700 or so attendees responded to the theme of the event, Shop in the Name of Love.
Harry and Pam Bull of Chicago were among those intensely studying the program and marking their selections. ”We just bought a house so we`re looking for anything we can find at a bargain,” he said. ”We have an old Dodge with 85,000 miles on it; so we might bid on the car, but we don`t know if it will hold a baby seat.”
The gleaming red sports car went to someone else for a bargain price of $17,000, but the Bulls didn`t go home empty-handed. Their haul was a cherry home entertainment center and their high bid was $500.
Throughout the hallways of the Oak Brook Hills Hotel, where the benefit was held, the silent auction attracted offers for housewares, dinners and services. Here the competition was sometimes more fierce than at the live auction.
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Bidders No. 51 and 131, both keen on possessing a handmade wooden train set, gradually raised each other from $40 to $152. No. 51 appeared to be the winner until just before closing time, a new entry, No. 88, topped them with a bid of $161.