Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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I never said I was a fashion consultant.
Charity and Fashion at Good Will
A long time ago I worked for a well-known insurance agency in Las Vegas at a time the boss was moving from sales to management. He sometimes called me
into his office to give me one of his accounts to service.
“George, here’s the Good Will store file. Go say hello to Bill Saphire, the manager, nice guy, you know where it is, just four blocks up by the bank.”
I had never been in the place so on my first call to see the guy I had to wait a few minutes because he was busy on the phone and I spent the time
just walking around the place. There were racks and racks of used clothing and I found several sport coats that were close to my size. I couldn’t
believe my ears when the counter girl told me they were $5 each. After a pleasant meeting I bought 5 of them, dropped them off at the cleaners to be
tailored and dry cleaned.
Vegas being what it is, I had checked them all for bullet holes or stab holes. Also the town is ground zero for quick and easy U.S. divorces, home to
hundreds of thousands of retirees so when some casino big wheel dies, some old retired golfer gets his last Mulligan, the widows do the right thing
and call Good Will.
This was my first time wearing somebody else's clothes. My dad worked the gambling circuit for the mob during the recession in the 30s when I was
growing up so we didn’t have to wear hand me downs or second hand anything. Now I wondered who the former owners of these fine coats were. All of them
dead and buried I suppose and most were pretty well off, no bums or day laborers regularly dressed that well. One of the jackets was a pricey mohair I
had seen advertised for $450 dollars even way back then so I was pleased at the complements I received for my new/old duds.
My weight was bouncing around some at that time in my life and when I put on weight, I would visit the store, donate the old coats and buy new ones
that fit me better – I saw that as a win-win for everybody. Then I lost some weight again and had to make another swap trip to my client. Even heaven
doesn’t last forever; I inadvertently bought back one of my previous purchases! One of the guys at work pointed it out.
It hit me right in the face; I’m renting my clothes from Good Will Industries. Looking good in the neighborhood or just the cheapest skate in the
rink? Well, I’m old now and the shame has dimmed a bit. I make no excuses and I expect no fist pumps or kudos. I just blame it on the town and the
times.
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13195
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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Great yarn! As always.
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bajalearner
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 8-24-2010
Location: Tijuana
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Mood: in search of more
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I like the story, but I sense some guilt and I don't understand why you would have any. But I am 60 years old and have worked since my first paper
route at age 12 so getting something nice and at a good price is the smart way to go.
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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I have a fully lined button down cashmere sweater with a Niemen Marcus tag that I bought at Goodwill for$5. Retail price $245
Bob Durrell
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Learner, I'm 77 years old but I still shrink at the thought of some jerk at a c-cktail thing saying "See that guy over there. He RENTS his clothes
from Good Will."
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bajalearner
Senior Nomad
Posts: 670
Registered: 8-24-2010
Location: Tijuana
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Mood: in search of more
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I don't shrink at anyone's need to feed their ego.
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Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 1-27-2004
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Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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I Used to Shop at Goodwill
For clothing for myself and my then young daughter when I was a struggling single mother, trying to take care of my family.
My ex-mother-in-law made a point of listing this in the divorce papers as "a sign of negligence".
[Edited on 4-13-2014 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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watizname
Senior Nomad
Posts: 772
Registered: 8-7-2009
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One of my mom's friends was one of the best dressed ladies in her group of ladies at Tahoe, when my parents lived up there. She would go to the
thrift stores, buy expensive, carefully used things, and take them home and make alterations herself. Like I said, she was usually dressed to the
nines, and turned a lot of heads. She bragged about how little she had to spend. 
I yam what I yam and that\'s all what I yam.
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