Land of Oz

Salvation Army

I wonder if Pres. Bush has ever been to a Salvation Army store? He ought to. I stop in one about every other week or so. I go in there looking mostly for books or the occasional odd and end that catches my eye. I've found several slide rules in there and have bought many books. I've found some other cool stuff as well; tool pouches, microscopes, games, a Spirograph, and other stuff. I go there because I can occasionally find neat stuff that is really cheap.

There's two things about the store that has nothing really to do with I buy. The first are the people who shop there. Some of them are like me - regular folk looking for a bargain. But it's the others who really get to me and yes, sometimes eve bother me. These are the ones that I'd like Bush to meet. The marginal folks at the edge of society. Most of them aren't living in rags on the street, but I'd also guess most of them have never seen the inside of an Outback restaurant. Their kids are usually wearing just this side of ragged clothes. And for them buying their kid a toy for $1 is a splurge and a luxury. They usually have a rather beat-down look to them. Have you ever seen the 30's photo of the migrant worker mom? Clean her up a little and you'd have the same worndown, haggard, grey face that you can see in the Salvation Army.

I wonder what these folks thought their future would be when they were in 10th grade? Do you think they'd imagine they'd be living from paycheck to paycheck with three young kids hanging on their skirts and their big shopping trip would be the Salvation Army and then a stop at the local overpriced corner grocer with the "checks cashed here" and "food stamps accepted" signs in the window? What do they think about now when they pile into their rusty 1985 Ford with the bad muffler and sunfaded bumper stickers and glance over at the brand new Hummer sitting in the Tim Horton's across the lot? It's bad enough the parents are in that predicament, but why'd they have to bring more kids into the same life?

The other thing I wonder about in the Salvation Army is when I'm looking at the books on the shelves. What is the story behind them? You can tell when a new batch comes in. All of a sudden there's a group of books from the 1950s about home repair and cooking or maybe a bunch of 1970s books about etiquette or fashion or gardening. Did the people who bought those books 40 years ago ever imagine they'd be sitting on the shelves of the Salvation Army. I imagine that will be my obituary - 30 feet on the Salvation Army bookshelves.

Salvation Army and Hummer