and see another fellow thrifter doing the same. We lock eyes but in turn it is an exchange that is only .2 seconds. We look at eachother which feels like an eternity. The sound of the metal hanger gliding across the metal pole screeches…….
over and over again.
Then, in that moment…. My eyes bolt back down to the next shirt I turn over. I carefully look at the stitches and tag to check if they are a Screen Start or an old JERZEES NuBlend and they aren’t, so my suspicions just raise even higher to think that the other guy is at my local Salvation Army trying to pull a fast one and gather as many vintage shirts as possible.
We are in a competition.
My feet shuffle as my hands are going a million miles a minute and the pain of my carpal tunnel syndrome is throbbing at this time. My bones rub together and smoke appears to slide out of my skin. I keep bumping my cart with my hip so I don’t waste any time on flipping through tees… at this point I could keep a cart completely straight by swinging my hips to a song by Metallica.
I find my first Y2K Nike tee but it isn’t enough to buy my family dinner for one night. My life flashes before my eyes and the thoughts of my little baby Joseph start flooding in. I smack myself in my face and curse under my breath for not keeping focus. I realize I’m in the red color section and I begin to get even more angry, “NO ONE EVEN BUYS RED SHIRTS” I yell out at the top of my lungs and before I know it one of the SA workers with red vests completely contradicts my statement & asks if “I’m okay?” and I reply:
“no habla ingles.”
At this point in time the thought of why I’m here in the first place is just a distant memory and I can’t seem to remember why. And then the metal screeching starts again…. the person who I locked eyes with in the first place is nowhere to be found. I walk to the front, check out, and my total comes to $33.59. I have $58.02 in my Chime account. I’m happy I don’t need to turn on SpotMe today. I insert my card, and throw my shirts over my shoulder, take a look at the store that started it all. I take a deep breath in and walk out, jump in my ‘13 Hyundai Elantra and start driving to Savers.