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Back to Family Memories Index Hand-Me-DownsFor some reason, fall weather makes me think of hand-me-downs. Not “hand me down my walking cane,” but jeans, shoes, or a sweater previously worn by an older relative, in my case a cousin. I hated hand-me-downs in grammar school. “Look,” mama would say, “it’s new to you so you should appreciate it.” But to me wearing hand-me-down stuff to school was like wearing billboards declaring we can’t afford new clothes. Once I hit junior high, my attitude improved considerably when I found my new-to-me clothes were pretty stylish. Since my cousin and I didn’t go to the same school, nobody knew they hadn’t been bought just for me. I always liked another kind of hand-me-downs – books. Remember Rummage Sales and White Elephant Sales? And when I got my driver’s license I started seeing places I’d never noticed before, like flea markets and yard sales. There were always stacks of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, monthly mystery magazines or old book-club books. Sometimes I even found old library books, the cards still in the back. As a young housewife a few years later, hand-me-downs proved quite practical in stretching our budget. It might take us an hour or two longer to get anywhere if I spotted an old Victrola, rocking chair or painted milk can sitting out in front of a store, always a good sign. “Stop, stop! Isn’t it time for a break?” My patient spouse would usually find something interesting of his own to browse through, like hunting gear or fishing tackle. Searching for a used desk one day, I learned these shops acquired housefuls of stuff in estate sales, including bookcases still full of books. Would I like to look through some of them, the helpful gentleman asked? Would I ever! Browsing can be time-consuming when pulling bargain books out of pasteboard boxes, reading a few pages of each. Had I already read this one? No, not familiar, add it to the pile! I didn’t arrive home with a desk but with a sack full of used books, all at about ten cents each. Today I’m surprised the internet hasn’t put more of these shops out of business. I’m back to acquiring hand-me-downs now and then, not from an older cousin but from a lady in Oregon or maybe Texas. I found a nice London Fog raincoat, hardly worn, and an Aigner handbag, just the right size and color. I even found a set of Bose headphones from China, a third of the normal price even with shipping added in. I did have to wait six weeks; they must have shipped them on a “slow boat from China.” But they worked fine. And there are books, of course. One day I decided to replenish my stock of Agatha Christie. Would you believe it, I found one I’d never read before online? The paper is nearly coffee-color it’s so old, but it’s still readable. I found it in an E-Bay used book store with lots of inventory to browse through, all at the click of a mouse. Just enter the name of an author and in a flash, there it is. Still, there’s something about seeing all the stuff, feeling and smelling the furniture and old books and enjoying the ambiance of the place. You just can’t appreciate “quaint” on the internet. Sometimes I’m tempted to find a road I haven’t driven down before to see if I can spot an old Victrola, rocking chair or painted milk can sitting out in front of a store. |