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Goodwill and Salvation Army
Saturday, July 24 2010
Normally when I go yardsaling, I sale with Penny and David. But today they were off on a nature walk learning about wild medicinal herbs. So I ended up yardsaling with Ray, who, because he has a new house in need of basic necessities, is suddenly very into yard saling. We did a circuit oft-traveled with Penny and David, starting in Woodstock, heading to 9W via Glasgo Turnpike, and then returning to Hurley. While out and about, Ray managed to get a beautiful stainless steel French press and a six gallon shopvac. This was at a yard sale being held by an elderly couple trying to raise funds after being swindled by a con man. (At this same sale, I got a pair of vintage shears, a pair of pliers with a unique always-parallel gripping action, and various bits of hardware, as well as a small set of drawers made entirely out of yellow polystyrene.)
Once we were out on 9W, it made sense to go to the two thrift stores Ray likes to patronize, the Goodwill on 9W and the Salvation Army on Albany Avenue. The Goodwill (which I'd never been in) actually has stuff one might want to buy. It's tidy and well-maintained, and has a good collection of electronics (though these tend to be absurdly-priced). A young Hispanic family was there and I found it interesting that the two preadolescent boys spoke to each other entirely in Spanish (much of which I could make out). Normally the kids of Hispanic immigrants are acculturated very quickly, so this family must have just arrived. Over at the Salvation Army (where I've bought clothes in the past), I'd forgotten what an incredibly dreary place it is. It's not much better than an organized dumpster, and certainly doesn't smell much better. The advantage the Salvation Army has over the Goodwill is the non-commercial nature of "its bathroom." When Ray is at Goodwill he goes to the Friendly's should he need "to go pooper." (He even hid a broken digital watch there so its alarm would go off every day at a certain time and sew confusion.) But at the Salvation Army you can just go to the Ulster County Public Libary, which is right next door, and there's absolutely no chance that anyone will ask if they can help you.
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