This past weekend included a visit to some secondhand stores (St. Vincent’s, Value World, etc.) with my mom and sister. I like these stores because it’s like the pool filter of consumerism — you can go to one little place and see examples of all the stuff that we’ve been swimming in. Examples include endless copies of Lee Iaccoca’s autobiography, Barry Manilow records and tons of wicker-based furniture. I enjoy the setting and even buy something once in a while, mostly old books, music and electronics. This weekend, for example, I found a Sony A/V receiver for $10. A quick iPhone search revealed that this device was $400 in its glory. All that and old ratty t-shirts. It’s junk paradise.

I’ve been doing this with my mom and sister for a long time. It’s nothing new for the three of us to go to a secondhand store and browse. Sarah looks for jeans (or doll heads or something) while Mom looks at furniture that could use a paint job (a fumigation, a la Cousin Eddy) and I look at top-loading cassette decks. We pour our nickles on the counter and walk out with treasure. It’s a family thing. That’s what we did this weekend, just like old times. I enjoyed it quite a bit.