Monday Thrift Stores

We went back. Even though it was Columbus Day, we managed to find two things open – first up was the Montgomery Rescue Mission Bargain Center. It’s a mixed bag. There was some nice furniture there, including a lovely couch, several pianos (one of which was actually close to being in tune), and a lot of end tables. All the furniture was reasonably priced. Not so the used books. They were, in general, the kind of sorry selection you find at most thrift stores -  a romance novel here, a self-help book there, a whole load of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books with their groovy tapestry/deco covers, and so forth. The whole lot was WAY overpriced, and erratically so. A bizarre and profoundly sexist “manual” for husbands written in 1959 (Chapter 2: “Wives say the darndest things”) was $10, even though there were multiple pages torn out. Meanwhile, a hardcover first edition of Jonathan Schell’s The Fate of the Earth was $2. Bizarre. Probably not a lot of demand for tracts on the abolition of nuclear weapons down on Mount Meigs road. Anyway, no dressers here (or none that we wanted), and no Halloween costume materials either. I did buy a cool hanging wire planter thing for $1.98.

Next we went to the Eastbrook Flea Market. It’s across from the Pizza Perfect on Coliseum, which S assures me is perfectly nasty. This is a cool place – if you’ve been to other “antique malls,” you know what to expect – a bunch of booths ranging from the very expensive to the reasonably priced. On several occasions we wished we’d brought the camera – especially when confronted with the wonderful records for sale. We did manage to find a very reasonably priced dresser for much less than we expected to spend, and a few fifty cent books, including a lovely coloring book of Palestine with stamps.

Overall, a successful trip. No Halloween costume materials yet, but there’s still some more time to shop. I’ve set up a Google map of Montgomery thrift stores – if you’re interested, please contribute stores and comments. We’ll update the map as we go.

Sunday Thrift Stores

We’re looking for a dresser. Nothing special, just a larger dresser than the one that S now has, to hold various overflow items. We found one on Craigslist, but it was mammoth and completely unwieldy. So off to the secondhand stores! I’m a big believer in furnishing this way. When I first moved to Tuscaloosa, I brought exactly two chairs with me. I got a few things from IKEA, and everything else came from CL and thrift stores. Confidence is high. Alas, our plans are foiled by God. Isn’t that always the way?

We find ourselves across the street from Frazer Methodist on the Atlanta Highway. We’re stopped. Traffic has to wait while cops escort churchgoers slowed considerably by the weight of their worship experience across the street to dine at Arbys, Jim and Nick’s, Captain D’s. We are patient. Also a bit lost. Thrift shopping was  considerably easier in Tuscaloosa, in Birmingham, or in Austin, Seattle, or any of the other places we’ve lived. Not so Montgomery. The thrift stores are more spread apart than you might think, difficult to locate online, and – here’s the important bit – not, generally speaking, open on Sundays. We hadn’t really considered this. I’m neither “churched” nor from here, but probably should have known better.

Google reveals this list of Montgomery-area thrift stores. Notice how they’re all around the city – a big ring, with the exception of the Montgomery Rescue Mission Bargain Center (closed on Sundays, but looks pretty darn good from peeking in the windows). We drove by some of the highlights, and will go back another day when it’s religiously permissable to buy secondhand goods. Stay tuned for more thrift store reporting.