At the Purgatory Thrift Store, the underwear and socks were a whole different issue. They were in one of many bins which contained baseball caps, knit caps, gloves, jockstraps, scarves, a few t-shirts, a women's girdle, two pairs of womens' underwear, and a cup of coffee. An empty cup of coffee. A cup of coffee that was empty when I found it.
There were several pairs of socks and underwear that were stained with the coffee. I tried to bring them to the lady who worked at the front desk but she directed me, as she had done when she saw my voucher, towards the folks at the back.
For their part, they were nicer to me, but they said that "it happens" and didn't seem to give it a second thought. They pointed me at the garbage can to throw the coffee cup (and when I found it later, the stirrer) away.
So then, holding three shirts and two pants in one hand I tried to find a pair of boxer-briefs in my size that looked like they'd been donated by someone too modest to wear them even once. I then compromised on any underwear in my size that looked like it had been donated quickly after wearing. Hey, I believe in the power of washing machines.
Eventually, I had to settle for a single pair of tighty-whities that looked like most of the wear was mechanical. The best socks they had were fifty-cents and coffee-stained, but they looked like good socks.
When I brought everything to the back to check out and they said my voucher had a bit more left on it. Tactfully, I brought up the possibility of a coat. It was a pretty chilly day. They agreed and I came back a bit later with a button-up corduroy jacket with fleece fringe.
Now, I thought fleece collars were just for show. Let me tell you, there are only, like, two body parts that feel better than your neck when they transition from exposed, cold winds to immersion in warm wool.
No, now that I think about it, it's probably every body part.
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