An Odd Birthday Gift

As you may know, I spent the morning of my birthday in an animal hospital having my cat put to sleep. Very depressing.

But the weather was nice, so I decided to get out of the house with the boy and get my mind off things. We spent the day wondering around Harvard Square, having Pinnochio's Pizza for lunch, and a cookie afterwards. ( For those who don't know, Pinochio's is the greatest pizza on earth outside of Italy. Which only makes sense, since those guys are from Sulmona, my grandmothers hometown. But I digress...)

On the way back to the car, I see a sign pointing down an alley off Brattle Street that says "Christ Church thrift store open". Of course, I can't resist any thrift opportunity, but the prospect of a charity thrift in the Protestant church right next to Harvard is particularly compelling.

As I thought, the place was jammed with 3/2 sack suits from the Harvard Coop, Rogers Peet company and the like. Nothing really my size though. And then I find these:

The real 'Nantucket Reds', made from actual sail cloth and faded to the perfect shade of pink, exactly my size, from none other than Murray's Toggery Shop.

The price chart on the wall says that men's pants are $4. No problem. When I bring them up to pay, the kindly women at the register says ' I have a gift for you. We're going to let you have these.' This being a church charity store, I insisted she take my money, but she was having none of it. Finally I said, ' You'll never believe it but today is my birthday.' She said, 'Well then, Happy Birthday.'

Sure I'll have to wait till June to wear them, but what do you want for free. I'll certainly be returning next week. After the morning I had, that little random pick-me-up did me a world of accidental good.

Fare Thee Well, Captain

After a brief bout with a blood clot in his leg, The Captain was put mercifully to rest this morning. He was 12 years old. He loved to eat, sleep, sleep, eat, eat and rub up against people's legs. He was really big and a glutton for attention and petting. He was a good cat, and we loved him.

Fare thee well, Captain. You will be missed.

Perfect Timing

I have this old pair of fake Bean Boots. They kind of stink. Sure they look o.k., but if I step in a puddle more than 1/4 inch deep my feet are sure to be soaked, rendering the half rubber boot totally pointless.

So I've been quietly pestering the Mrs. to buy me a real pair for m birthday, which is soon. Then today, just in time for the impending nasty weather season, these come my way at the good old thrift, in my size for $12.99:

the real thing: L.L. Bean 'Original Maine Hunting Shoes'

The funny thing is that only this morning I was browsing the L.L. Bean website trying to talk myself into buying a new pair. I must have been riding high off my recent brand new purchase of the Cranberry red cords. I'm glad I didn't. Thrifting can make a man do some pretty crummy things, though. I actually called my wife from the store to ask whether she had ordered them for me for my birthday, which she hadn't.

And speaking of the red cords, today another package arrived from Lands End containing the very same pants. Seems this second pair were the replacements, and the first pair, which I was wearing when I opened the second pair, were the missing original order. Of all the things to have two of, I wind up with these. Sheesh!

As for my birthday present, seems I'll be making the choice this year, which means that really the present is the fact that I can have something 'new'. A daunting decision, indeed. Current options include Blucher mocs, a shawl collared cardigan, or some new shirts. But these are the choices of a fuddy-duddy, so maybe I should wait until I think of something outrageous.

Bargain Hunting

I often write about thrifting on this blog as a way of finding the good stuff cheap, but lets not forget the old fashioned bargain hunt. While I usually loathe internet shopping, how could I resist these:

They are from the fabulous overstock page on the Land's End website. Originally $60, these pants were marked down to $14.99 (hmm, wonder why), hemming including and the shipping was free. Plus, the color is called 'Cranberry', so quaintly New England it makes you sigh, even if the pants are made in Hong Kong.

Free shipping can be a funny thing, and you pretty much get what you pay for. I ordered these pants 2 weeks ago. 1 week ago, according to UPS tracking, the pants were left at my back door while I was out. After a good look around the house and the back yard, no pants. So I called UPS, and explained the situation. They said 'we delivered your package'. I said 'But I don't have my package'.They told me fairly bluntly and a little rudely that it wasn't their problem. I said 'so that's it, then?'. They told me I should call the shipper.

So I called Lands End. Let me tell you, they gave me some right proper old fashioned customer service. After asking me for my order number and confirming my address, the operator said, in a charming midwestern accent ' darned UPS' and assured me a new pair would be sent to the hemming department the following Monday. End of the week and the pants arrive. Sure , she referred to me as 'Mrs.' throughout the phone call, but service like that is hard to come by these days. If we could get back to combining that kind of polite service with American manufacturing, in ten years time we'd be laughing at the current economic fiasco. But that's just my wistful opinion.

These pants have a perfectly classic straight cut, and the cloth is a first rate, heavy wide wale corduroy. Being such an avid thrifter, its a treat to buy fresh. As I tried them on, my wife half-jokingly said to our young son 'It's a miracle, Daddy bought something new for himself.' Well, it only happens when the price is right. Being cursed with a combination of permanent mild poverty and inherited old world stinginess, it's something I can't help.

Of course I plan to wear these Cranberry Cords on Christmas, perhaps with a white cable knit sweater. In the meantime, I think they'll make a fine semi-regular addition to my winter wardrobe, with a tweed jacket or blue blazer perhaps. Look for their virgin run sometime later this week.

Popular Demand

The old header photo is back.
The people have spoken.

Haiku

Now's the time of year

For heavy corduroy suits

Olive green, three peice

*

With a wool knit tie

And some bulky wing tipped shoes

In a leather chair

An Eye on the Future

It's always a good thing for a gentleman to keep an eye on the future. One must provide for the children, plan the weeks meals, see the crash of the financial system coming and so forth. In thrift terms, it this means looking at what people are selling for Christmas and planning to hunt for it in January and February.

Take this pair of pants from Orvis for example:

I can only hope that some guy gets these for Christmas and with a strained smile says "Oh, Thanks", then jokes about them over football with his buddies, makes a crack or two about the sort of guy who might wear them, then sends them to the Goodwill when his wife isn't looking. If said guy happens to wear a 34" waist, then I'll score them for $5.99 in time to wear them a few times before this winters thaw.

Always keep an eye on the future.