at goodwill

Marisa, a friend of mine, wanted to go to the local Goodwill shop. It seems that in the past year whenever she’d compliment someone on a jacket or blouse, they’d say they got it at Goodwill. It’s not where Marisa usually buys her clothes, but finally she had to see for herself what was going on there, and perhaps pick up a designer piece for a pittance. Off we went. And as we entered the shop, we both said, “Not bad, not bad at all.” And soon after that, a knee-length, light, mustard-colored spring coat for $7.50 started calling to me. It had a Christian Dior label. It wasn’t in its prime, but something about it said, “buy me. I still look pretty good, and I’ll show you how I can fit in with the other things hanging in your closet.” So, I bought it because it has great style and the material flows so nicely.

However, my usually very accommodating and nice Korean seamstress at the cleaners clearly didn’t see it that way. Her face scrunched up when I took it out of the bag. “you buy that?” she said. “Lots of holes, dirty.” Actually, it had a tiny hole where a Goodwill employee had put a tag and it was a little frayed and slightly dirty at the cuffs. “And that’s why I’m here.” I explained to her. Her face was still scrunched when she picked it up for more inspection, and said, “Hem no good.” We looked together and it turns out the lining needed to be tacked under the arm. She sent an exasperated sigh my way. Really, I wasn’t prepared to have to defend my newly-acquired coat, but was determined that somehow that coat was going to leave in better shape than the way it came in. I smiled and walked out wondering whether I’d left it in the hands of the right person. I’ll find that out tomorrow. And Marisa, she didn’t find a designer piece for a pittance, but she’s ready to return because she knows “It’s all about the timing.”

One day in Raleigh, Michael and I tried to leave a few bags of clothes at Goodwill at the area where donations are accepted, and discovered that that huge space was jam packed with boxes and bags, and couldn’t handle any more donations. Often new and unused items-beautiful things worn only a few times or used only a few times-are given away. It’s possible to find something that calls out to you, “buy me. I’m just what you need.” What’s that they say? – One man’s _________ is another man’s ________ .