The Unofficial Ambassador of the Salvation Army Thrift Store
Have you ever noticed how identifiable communities of people inevitably form wherever people gather regularly--the dog park, yoga class, kids' soccer games, the coffee shop? This year, I have become part of the "first-thing-in-the-morning-Salvation-Army-thrift-store" community.
My daily dog-walking routine includes an irresistable stop at the Salvation Army on 9th St SE. I arrive at 8 a.m. when it first opens, tie my pooches to the column, and take a quick swing through to see if there are any new treasures I can't live without. I also get to exchange greetings with the Salvation Army Store regulars.
An interesting and friendly group of people frequent this thrift store. There is the snappily-dressed woman who has fun purses(one is shaped like a watering can, another is zebra print)--she and I have an eye for the same dishes. There is the man on the motorized scooter who often zips past me and my dogs along the Riverwalk on our way there. There is the patient, young mom with the curly-haired daughter and infant son whom I usually meet in the used book section. An elderly, immigrant man always gives the clerks good-natured grief about how much each purchase costs. Sometimes I run into Ron - he collects exotic cookbooks, and this summer his grandson has been accompanying him.
There is also one woman who I think of as the ultimate connector of the Salvation Army community - Shelly Rothering. Shelly stops in every day on her way to her job at Wellhaven Music, where she repairs woodwind instruments. Whereas I have always thought of shopping as a kind of solitary and anonymous experience, Shelly approaches it like a walk in the neighborhood. She seems to know everyone -- warmly inquiring about their children (or their dogs, as appropriate), listening to their latest job-hunting or apartment-hunting adventures, expressing concern about their cough, brainstorming with them about how an item might be gussied up.
And then, she goes one step further and introduces people to each other and to the Salvation Army employees! One day last spring she cordially introduced herself to me, and I have met a bunch of my fellow shoppers through her since then. She is never pushy --she does this in a very natural and gradual way, but I imagine that eventually, thanks to Shelly, all the Salvation Army store customers and staff will know each other on a first-name basis. The world could sure use more community ambassadors like Shelly.
