By SECULAR HUMANISTS OF THE LOWCOUNTRY
Added: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:00:00 UTC

From:
http://lowcountry.humanists.net

Those who have attended one of our annual potluck parties in December are familiar with the book auction held at these events to raise money for the SHL. Partygoers bring in books -- often used books -- and then bid on them with the proceeds going to the organization. The books go for anywhere from $1 to as much as $35 under normal circumstances.

However, at last month's party, things got a little out of hand. Herb Silverman, who was acting as auctioneer, and long time SHL member Bill Upshur got into a bidding war over a copy of Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" (the March 2007 selection for our Humanist Book Group). By the time the price got up to $100, the rest of us realized that something was going on, but people were not sure what to think. Then the highest bid got up above $1,000 and you could see people wondering whether Herb or Bill actually intended to pay that much, whether their bravado had trumped their inhibitions, or whether this was all a joke.

In the end, Bill Upshur "won", purchasing the book at a price of $20,000. Once the applause died down, Herb explained that Bill had, in fact, decided to donate $20,000 to the organization and that the bidding war had been cooked up as a fun way to announce it. This, of course, brought another round of applause from the guests in attendance. Thank you, Bill!

Visit the Secular Humanists of Lowcountry (South Carolina, USA) at:
http://lowcountry.humanists.net

TAGGED: BOOKS, RICHARD DAWKINS