It was a lovely summer day yesterday and I took the road less traveled with J on our way home. It wound through the countryside verdant after the recent rains. Our drive took us past a quaint church, an old tavern, a craft shop and finally a thrift store where we made our stop. An old man on a rocking chair sat in the porch. He welcomed us warmly and we were his only customers.
There were kitchen things, books, lamp shades among an assortment of curious odds and ends. Almost everything was very old. J spent her time skipping up and down the old wooden stairs while I browsed through the books. Paperbacks at 25 cents and hard-covers at 75 cents. I picked up one about the healing power of herbs. The old man rummaged through his pockets to find 75 cents to return for my dollar and thanked me profusely for my business.
On the way back home, we stopped at Bath and Body Works lured by the bright sale signs. What a complete contrast to the run down thrift store. I bought a deeply discounted bottle of aromatherapy oil - a heady concoction of Bergamot, Spearmint and Rosemary supposed to uplift and energize the spirits.
I found myself thinking about the effects of urbanization and the difference in my shopping experience at two stores only five miles apart. Ten years from now the tentacles of suburbia would have reached up to the idyllic thrift store. Instead of an old man on a rocking chair, a smartly dressed young woman would be enticing me to register online at their website to be notified about upcoming sales.
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