Thrift Store Days

I'm reading David Sedaris' book "When You Are Engulfed in Flames," and like all David Sedaris books, it's hilarious. One of his essays dealt with living in a bizarre rooming house during his college years, with a landlady who liked antiques and wore Bakelite jewelry and veiled hats.

It reminded me of my own college years, when I was a dedicated thrift store shopper. I bought virtually everything from Goodwill or the Salvation Army, including clothing, books, records, huge sets of dishes I assembled from individually purchased stray pieces, and pieces of wiry 1950s or '60s furniture. I would go thrifting with friends and spend entire days driving around West Florida, anywhere from Gainesville to Fort Myers and inland to Orlando. My thrifting territory was immense.

I developed a soft spot for a zooty china pattern called "Cathay" by Taylor, Smith and Taylor (still readily available on eBay). At one point I had enough of this china to serve 16 people, imagining that I might eventually have a big dinner party. Now I know myself better, and know it's unlikely I'd ever serve more than four people at a time!

Because it was the mid-'80s, many of the used books I found were from the '60s and '70s. This is where I first developed a fascination for Jacqueline Susann -- the thrift shops were full of her books, particularly lesser ones like "Dolores." I also found lots of classics, and I even read them. Some of my thrift shopping had actual educational value!

I also had some favorite independent thrift stores. There was a store in South Tampa called McMother's Celestial Junk that was pretty entertaining, though I only remember buying one item there because it was a bit expensive, relative to a Goodwill. (What was that item? An ashtray. I collected ashtrays briefly, even though I never seriously smoked.) There were some vintage stores in Ybor City, the old Latin quarter near downtown Tampa, that were also pretty cool -- LaFrance, which is still there, and Sweet Charity -- but again, they could be pricey.

I suppose young people are drawn to thrift shopping as a way to express individuality, to define and distinguish themselves from their peers. Trying on someone else's old clothes is like trying on different identities. For me, it was also a great way to bond with certain like-minded friends, like Suzanne and Kevin, or Paul and Karl. I spent some of the best days of my youth exploring thrift stores and flea markets with them.

As I've mentioned before, when I went into the Peace Corps, at 25, I boxed up all my accumulated stuff and stored it at my Mom's house. When I came home more than two years later, I began unpacking it and thought, "What IS all this?" I was 28, and by then I didn't feel the same need to hoard other people's old stuff. I began giving nearly everything away, or selling it, a process that could be agonizing at times but eventually came as a huge relief.

I still like thrift stores, and I pick up an odd item now and then. But my thrift shopping days are few and far between -- nothing like the recreation they provided way back when. I'm glad I was shopping at Goodwill rather than the mall. Can you imagine the money I saved, the debt I avoided? Whew!