I used to always watch the morning news on TV. Now, instead, I read the morning news on the internet. I scan the home page which is set on one of the national network news sites. If a story line interests me, I open the page for the full story. Often I just read the little blurb and never go any further (which can result in some pretty strange imaginings on my part). Earlier this week I noted one of those blurbs which suggested it was going to tell you how to save money by shopping in thrift stores.
"Good grief!", I thought, "Who doesn't know about shopping in thrift stores?" Apparently lots of people because a Google search turns up all kinds of sites: "12 Tips for Thrift Store Shopping"; "A Basic Guide to Thrift Store Shopping"; "23 Must Know Tips for Thrift Store Shopping"; etc. etc. Those sites must be for the newly "less than affluent" folk. I've been shopping thrift stores and garage sales my whole life. This JH Collectibles jacket I bought at the Goodwill in Des Moines in the '80's is still one of my favourites.
When I worked in Valley Junction (West Des Moines), there was a consignment shop which only accepted 'name' brand clothes. My fellow employees and I spent many a lunch hour combing through those racks looking for stylish bargains. I remember one of our co-workers though who was appalled. "You don't really buy clothes there to wear, do you?! One day she did go with us, but only to buy a man's dress shirt for her daughter to take to school to use as a paint shirt in art class.
Thrift Stores are so much fun to go through because you never know what you will find. When we do stop at one nowadays, I mostly hunt through the glassware, looking for treasures and through the books. Once on a trip to the Southwest, I found a chaise lounge that I really, really wanted. But, no way to bring it home in the Honda.
In the mid-70's, Dad and Mom came up one weekend. I hauled them off to the Salvation Army Thrift Store on North Sixth Avenue. I wanted them to see all the bargains living in the big city offered. I don't remember if Mom found anything, but Dad sure did - a white sport coat for a very reasonable price. And the amazing think was that it fit him! Dad was a big guy - six foot, six inches, long arms, long torso. Most of the time he had to special order clothes from the Big and Tall catalogs.
Mom's reaction was, "What do you want that for?" It seems to me the price was only $1.25, which I'm probably remembering wrong, but she definitely did not want him to buy it and he could tell by the tone of her voice. He kept opting for it. She kept vetoing him. Again she asked him why he wanted it; where would he wear it? Finally, he said, "If nothing else, you can bury me in it." We left the store without the white sport coat.
What was Dad's affinity for a white sport coat? Was he remembering how he looked and felt all dressed up for Ron & Ruth's wedding in April, 1968? Was there something about Marty Robbins' song that spoke to him? I'll never know why he wanted that jacket. But many, many times, I wished I had gone back and bought it for him.
After I posted the above blog today, I read the article about a NC woman who bought a painting for $10 at Goodwill then learned it was worth $20,000. Gives new meaning to finding bargains at a thrift store.
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