Think about somebody else

I heard a story on NPR Story Corps Friday morning on the way to work. Not very often you hear something that kinda stops you in your tracks and really makes you think. This story was very thought provoking. If you want to hear it.. go to NPR and listen to the whole thing.

It was a story about a Dr. Greer. He had worked with needy people a lot. He could point to one day at a clinic as a defining moment in his career and in his life. He was seeing some patients around lunchtime — a mother and her children, who had been staying at a Salvation Army shelter. Greer tells the story: "Her youngest son — I guess, about 6 years old — had a sweet smile. And I handed him my sandwich," Greer said. "And the kid took the sandwich out of the bag, unwrapped it, broke it in half, took a couple of bites and then stuck it back in the wrapper. And I couldn't figure out why the kid was doing that. "And I asked the kid, 'Why'd you do that?' " The little boy looked up and said, "It's for my brother."

"And that was probably one of the most important lessons I ever learned," Greer said. "That a 6-year-old homeless child is teaching us what we're all supposed to do: think about somebody else."

The ARC

I tour the ARC from time to time…a local thrift shop that has thousands of items. This is one of my favorite places to spend time, relax, and unwind. (You all know what tremendous pressure I am under at my job…right?) Some of yall run, ride bikes, watch YouTube, play computer games, do frisbee golf or watch DVR’d shows: I go to the ARC to experience the refreshing serendipity of life.

This store smells old and kinda tired…giving
the feeling of slipping back a few notches on the time line…to an existence not dictated by cell phones, internet, and gotta go gotta go. The slightly off-white yellowish hue of the lighting and speaker music from the 50’s and 60’s adds to the mood.

The ARC is always full of old people, young people, students, and a smattering of homeless transient types along with the occasional well-heeled shoppers who seem to be slipping around as if they are trying to avoid detection.

The items there are all donated. Some things intended to be used by others; some things just dropped off there instead of tossed in their rightful place: the garbage can. As I wander the aisles and see the artifacts, it makes me think about how our society seems to have a natural reluctance to actually throw things away. We feel better about donating an item than tossing it, for whatever reason. I think most of these one-time-treasures are dropped off just to get things out of someone’s house. Maybe it is bloodletting for us these days, as we all have way too much stuff in our houses and our lives. I also think about the ARC as the original old school recycling project. These thrift stores were around long before we got all hot and bothered about landfills and save the planet recycling.

I imagine the source of some of the artifacts might be cleaned out homes of the deceased. Beings that have lived long and productive lives but now have moved on to different challenges on the Other Side……or perhaps old people who have given up or given in to the daily battles involved with sleeping, eating, and clothing oneself. People that have been delivered peacefully or screaming and kicking to the rest, old, assisted care or congregate living "homes". Places where they can sit by the window and stare back into time and relive the many forgettable moments of their existence....changing the facts as they see fit…....the trips to the grocery stores, malls, schools, churches, baseball games, doctor offices, and airports or so called vacations.....or sit quietly on a cracked Naugahyde sofa staring blankly at reruns of the Price is Right! or Lets Make a Deal ..... the TV on the wall rack ......that no one…inmates or caregivers …..has the slightest idea where the remote control is or the ambition to change the channel if they could find it.

Many of these items were purchased and used to maintain daily life or at least the illusion of living..... back in the day. Some given as gifts and probably prized at one time by the giver and receive. These same items now sit stacked on the shelves, hung on wire hangers, packed on book cases. With their yellow, green and blue price stickers clearly marked from 12 cents to hundreds of dollars. The prices dependent on the mood of the volunteer or the person working off community service hours when the donation was received. These front line people are charged with the responsibility of making a WAG about how much someone might be willing to pay for the item. Based on evaluation of the fair market value considering it is old, broken, worn out, used and abused……much like the clientele frequenting the ARC.


I like to look at the coffee cup selections. Usually limiting my inspections to the ½ off 39 cents to 79 cents offerings. Every once in a while I will consider purchasing a $1 cup if it is a really nice cup and it is 50% off day. I have snagged some classic cups there: Alcatraz Hotel, Two Men and a Truck, San Francisco Cable Car,and Cafe something or other. The TM and AT was purchased as a matched set of two. One I kept at home and one I took to the work place. To make a long story even longer: the one at work got stolen by some coworker causing me to exclaim, Holy Shit! Is nothing sacred around this place? The only other thing that comes close to this lack of respect for private property was 30 years ago someone stole my flip-flops at Daytona beach that I left by the stairs on the beach behind the hotel. I must say it is a lowlife mother fucker that will steal a used coffee mug or worn out flip-flops from another human being.

Anyway the rest of my tour around the ARC always includes the vinyl records:
33’s, 45’s, and 78’s with their funky album cover art and 4 track cassettes. Always looking for the long play album: Meet The Beatles in the original wrapper. Then pots and pans…thinking I will find an All-Clad 10” sauce pan for under $10…when in fact there are several used Lodge cast iron skillets marked for $29 that sell new for $27 at Wal-Mart. Apparently the spoon, fork, and knife scratch-marked-rusted bottoms add value to the cookware in the eyes of the pricers.

I found a magnificent three-legged piano there once marked $5,000. Trust me…I thought about it…knowing this was the opening price and would soon drop down to a manageable mount…..weighing the amount of wrath I would have to endure if caught with the purchase…Where could I hide it? How would I get it home? Would Rob let me store it at his house? Yea....…like we are gonna be able to make up some story about why it is sitting in his garage? I could see him getting caught in some fabricated story we dreamed up and rehersed..knowing full well he would fold when the pressure was on.....and at some point my name would be rung from him…...."Annie: Hey Rob what the hell is this piano doing out here? Rob: IT'S VIC's PIANO!!!!!! HE MADE ME BRING IT HERE!!!!) I also hesitated a bit because we lived in a crowded apartment and it was on the second floor….…with reluctance, I passed. I did keep keep my eye on it for several weeks as the price was reduced on a regular basis. The last price before it disappeared was at $499…which I know was purchased on ½ off day for $250. I pictured this piano sitting in a garage somewhere…the man trying to explain to his wife why they can’t park the cars in the garage no-mo..and how valuable this piano is going to be when he fixes it up, has it tuned and they Craig list it.

The rest of the time I spend looking at outdoor bbq grills, golf clubs, bikes, skis, and tee shirts. The tour always ends with the book section. I love the old cook books with colored pictures. I have purchased Cooks Illustrated magazines, Gourmet Today, and a 1952 Betty Crocker spiral cook book with the red and white plaid cover…all on ½ off day of course.


Think about the true value of an ARC and the fact that everyone needs an ARC.

Find yours and make it a part of your life.