Once I had a garage sale in Detroit, and a man came round and bought a Playboy bunny outfit I once wore at a Halloween party, a Halloween party that was supposed to be a costume party, but I was the only one in a costume besides the children attending. "I'm going to dress my mannequin in this," the man said. "My old lady wouldn't fit into it." I thought about it and laughed. A mannequin in a garage in Detroit would wear my old outfit and probably be less self-conscious; maybe he had other friends for his doll that also wore similar get-ups.
I sold a lot of stuff that day, but didn't make much money. The economy here has suffered for years. And I'm a soft touch and gave away some stuff to people who have fallen prey to the scourges of the city: crack, heroin. One woman took my old red comforter from years ago that I had slept under in all kinds of weather, mostly freezing. She rode off with it around her shoulders on a rusty bike. I could see my red blanket for miles, getting smaller and smaller, imagined it might be used to soothe someone to sleep, thought about all the kindnesses that had been bestowed on me by others, more than I could ever possibly repay and was glad to have this last glimpse of it.
Michelle's Spell of the Day
"Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form." Rumi
Cocktail Hour
Drinking picnic suggestion: Raymond Carver special: KFC and champagne!
Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Sunday!
12 comments:
KFC and champagne sounds good. But please, no chocolate covered strawberrries.--Kwame
Detroit breakdown...Motorcity shakedown.--J. Geils
Cruise the Cruises!!!!--Detroit cabdriver Benny Parsons
Have a car race on Lake St. Clair!!!--Hank Ford
Go Lions!!!--Bobby Layne
Sounds like you met the prisoner who kept stealing mannequins from department stores because he said he'd fallen in love.
I don't know if I could have parted with that comforter. But it's nice to think of it warming another.
Amazing how much good a simple blanket can do.
(Personally I've never managed to sell a single thing at either of the garage sales I've held, so I'm giving up on the effort.)
My old lady might have fit into the outfit! The giving the product away is one reason to have a garage sale everyday, it certainly de-clutters a home fast.
Next to socks, blankets rank highly in the overall list of things to give to the down and out. Your karm must be very good from that singular gift.
soul of an angel you have, michelle...
I wouldn't have come up with KFC and champagne in a million years. Now that I think about it... I feel icky. excuse me please ;o)
My friend Flylady says that when we give things away, we are blessing the world. Of course you did--you always do! xo
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