Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Bean Trees
Speeding through Barbara Kingsolver's novel, I reach the ending way too soon. To discover the last three pages have been ripped out. Thanks Salvation Army. More thanks to Google books.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Mike's Thrift Store
One of the first local businesses I visited when I moved to NE Capitol Hill was Mike's Thrift Store on the 1400 block of H Street NE. A few weeks ago, it was a dumpy, hard to enter grandpa's garage/neighbor's storage shed type of adventure. Everything was a dollar. A pair of shoes? Two dollars. There were home videos, piles of clothes. A nice man named Mike wearing a heavy winter coat in the cold small room.
I found a few VHS tapes, some missing the box. Spied some pretty good lamps and figured that if I took the time to dig under the piles of old clothes I could find some real gems. But then again, I'd have to dig through those piles of old clothes. It was pretty gross, but I could tell there were some finds to be found.
It made me sad, because H Street is in the process of developing and in a few years, a store like Mike's might be a faint memory. This is the kind of place where vintage stores could really take off.
So, I walk into Mike's today. I hadn't been in several weeks. First of all, the Bible on tape was still playing out of the old cassette player. Secondly, the door was open, letting in fresh air. I could see the floor and I could walk to the back wall. Mike told me he hadn't felt like cleaning. It is a brand new place now. I found some real gems, without having to dig through the trash.
But with change comes Mike's best move yet. Everything is not a dollar anymore. He gave me a free VHS copy of Moulin Rouge when I expressed my disappointment. Also a good move. I'm happy to be a customer who will always remember what Mike's used to be like. Sad that the lamps I spied the first day are now $25. But mostly psyched because I know now that Mike's has a chance at survival as H Street develops.
I found a few VHS tapes, some missing the box. Spied some pretty good lamps and figured that if I took the time to dig under the piles of old clothes I could find some real gems. But then again, I'd have to dig through those piles of old clothes. It was pretty gross, but I could tell there were some finds to be found.
It made me sad, because H Street is in the process of developing and in a few years, a store like Mike's might be a faint memory. This is the kind of place where vintage stores could really take off.
So, I walk into Mike's today. I hadn't been in several weeks. First of all, the Bible on tape was still playing out of the old cassette player. Secondly, the door was open, letting in fresh air. I could see the floor and I could walk to the back wall. Mike told me he hadn't felt like cleaning. It is a brand new place now. I found some real gems, without having to dig through the trash.
But with change comes Mike's best move yet. Everything is not a dollar anymore. He gave me a free VHS copy of Moulin Rouge when I expressed my disappointment. Also a good move. I'm happy to be a customer who will always remember what Mike's used to be like. Sad that the lamps I spied the first day are now $25. But mostly psyched because I know now that Mike's has a chance at survival as H Street develops.
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