Thrift Store Go-Around

I was cleaning out the shed this week. This is both scary and fun. In the shed are boxes filled with a lifetime's accumulation of cool odds-and-ends, most of which you've forgotten about. So each box potentially holds treasure: old comic books, magazines, school papers from 5th grade, photos... Stepping into the shed is like entering a tomb. There's one window where a shaft of light is streaming in, illuminating the dust motes that you've begun to disturb. The musty smell of decay pervades the forgotten. My eyes quickly scan for any movement on the walls and ceiling. Because this is the shed. This is where the crawling things hang out. (I don't really like crawling things. Or things that creepth, as the Bible might put it.) In fact, it's kinda like an episode of Fear Factor. Will he put his hand in a box full of knotted milky gobs of web to pull out an old Batman comic? Can he do it? (The answer: yes. Very quickly.) Even more paranoid than me is my mom. Before venturing out to the shed she warned me (and I'm not joking): "Watch out for mice. They carry the Hanta virus." Thanks, mom... As if I wasn't skittish enough. (But I did have to laugh, when I thought of Kurtzweil in the X-Files movie talking about the Hanta virus. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about the alien black oil possessing my body. Hopefully.)
I did find lots of goodies that I thought had long been given away or lost. My Bloom County books, for one, were like running into old friends. I also found yet another box of Rolling Stone magazines. I used to collect them obssessively until the boxes of magazines started to take over my life. Then I started giving them away in admirable attempt at reducing clutter. I gave them to friends, I sold some on eBay, I donated them to thrift stores, you name it. In fact, I had given away so many, I just assumed that I had exhausted my supply. But nope, every few months I unearth another find, another archaelogical dig. I'm convinced that I'll never be without a box of Rolling Stone magazines, no matter how hard I try to get rid of them. (I came across one of my faves, the March 21st, 1991 issue with Jodie Foster on the cover. I love Jodie Foster. And no, I'm not getting rid of it.)
I had managed to weed out about 5 boxes of old crap that I knew I had to get rid of. Sometimes it's just time, you know? So it was off to the Idaho Youth Ranch, which is Emmett's only thrift store. The problem with doing this, however, is that whenever I go to a thrift store, even if it's to drop off donations, I must go in and look around. And in doing so, I end up buying more stuff to replace the old stuff that I just dropped off. This is bad. Very bad. But good. Oh so good. My favorite thing in the world is books and you can't find a better selection of ridiculously low-priced books than at a thrift store. Plus, you know...summer... summer reading... I have an excuse, right? (I can justify about anything. Especially buying books.)

Here's what I ended up buying:

Oliver Twist -- Charles Dickens. I'm reading "Bleak House" right now, but I'm almost done. I don't know if I want to do two Dickens in a row, but it'll come in handy when summer starts to wane, I'm sure. And at 20 cents, I can't pass it up.

Ivanhoe -- Sir Walter Scott. I've never read any of Scott's work. He's the only major 19th century author that I haven't got to yet. He's on my short list. 50 cents

The Pyramids of Egypt-- I.E.S. Edwards. An archaeologist and Egyptian scholar explains the hows and whys of the pyramids. Looks very straight-forward and easy to understand--perfect for a summer day. 30 cents.

Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles, and Tales-- various. Not sure whether to give this to Tasha, who is into this sort of thing or keep it for myself. Hmmmm. It looks really cool! 50 cents.

The Prince of Egypt-- adapted by Jane Yolen. A nice oversized hardback kids book retelling the movie. This one goes to my daughter Ivy. The thing I like about this is that the paintings are original--they just didn't slap in already premade art from the movie. Very nicely done and only 50 cents.

Michelangelo: The Pieta and other Masterpieces-- Josef Lombardo. A small, thin book focusing on the Pieta (with a few other works, like the Bruges Madonna, thrown in.) The text looks engaging and pictures are wonderful. Again, 50 cents.

The Story of Jazz-- Marshall W. Stearns. I've been watching Ken Burns' Jazz documentary this summer and it's only made me crave more hot jazzy goodness. The quote on the back says: "Man, this book tells the real story of jazz..."--Louis Armstrong. DAMN. That's good enough for me. 50 cents.

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There-- Sylvia Boorstein. I'm interested in meditation, but I can never get my mind to shut up. I'd like to learn to at least hit the pause button. Looks like a friendly, easy-going book. 50 cents.

Gorillas in the Mist--Dian Fossey. One of my favorite books by one of my favorite iconoclasts. Fascinating woman. I already had a copy, but this was a really nice edition with Sigourney Weaver on the cover. 50 cents.

Babycakes-- Armistead Maupin. When it comes to literary adventures, I like to jump off cliffs. I've never read Maupin and this is the 4th in his Tales of the City series. Here I go. Usually I don't like to read a series out of order, but I did it with the Thomas Harris "Hannibal" series and I was just fine. Looks good. 75 cents.

Bastard out of Carolina--Dororthy Allison. Good friend Shan has been recommending this one for years... Looking through the shelves, it nearly jumped out and bit me! I'm putting this one at the top of my summer reading list. 75 cents.

Total: $5.50 plus tax. Not too shabby. Now I just gotta make room on my book shelf. Some things are going to have to go in the shed...