Thrifting During COVID-19

I love thrift stores, but the idea of being around anything that had been previously owned became horrifying when COVID-19 began to spread. For months the only businesses I went inside were our two grocery stores and one gas station. I masked up and got in and out as fast as possible.

Then Goodwill announced that they were reopening a few stores in mid-May. One of those stores is less than five miles from our house. That's when I heard the sirens' song. I fought the urge to answer for weeks until the DVD player in the garage burned out.

I formed a plan. All donations were quarantined for 72 hours before they were handed by masked employees. If I did find a DVD player, then it should be safe. Also, we had wet-wipes. I would pay with single dollar bills and let the store keep the change. Less personal contact that way.

Since opening, all Goodwill stores require customers to wear masks. They might have been the first around here to do so. 

A touchless entry is nice.

The store is huge, and the factory-high ceiling seems like it would help with ventilation.

I was still nervous. I made a bee-line to the electronics section. They had one DVD player for sale. I plugged it into the wall socket. It turned on. The tray moved in and out. I gave the clerk seven dollar bills. I then fled the store. I scrubbed my hands with the sanitizer in my car. I drove my prize home in triumph.

I gave player a wet-wipe bath in the garage, and then let it air-dry while I went upstairs to take a nap. The stress was exhausting. 

Turns out I bought a dud. The player couldn't play dual-layer DVDs. It kept restarting the movie half-way through. So frustrating.

I did, however, break the seal. I stopped by Goodwill a few more times during the summer. It's not the same, though. I move much quicker. I avoid aisles with people in them. I look for vintage t-shirts, but I'll leave if someone is on the opposite side of the clothing rack.

If I find something to buy and the checkout line is long, then I put it back. The less I touch the better. I just look at what's on the shelves; I don't poke around to see what might be hiding underneath that curling iron.

One thing that will make me break my no contact rule is vinyl records. At this store the LPs are typically found on a shelf unit with the movies and CDs.

However, somebody placed a pile of ten records on a shelf across the store near the books and puzzles.

I took a knee and flipped through the stacks. Let's see... religious album, religious album, religious album, religious album, religious album, what?? Is that a skull? Hey! It's the Blue Oyster Cult! 

That's not exactly the company you'd expect to find the BOC in.

Some Enchanted Evening is their live album from 1978. Side 2 is killer: "Kick Out The Jams," “Godzilla," "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," and "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place." That's a heck of a set for 89 cents.

I didn't notice until I got home that there was a stowaway. A second record was hiding in the sleeve. 

I went back to see if the Tarkus artwork was there, but no dice. ELP has probably been roommates with the BOC for decades. A generic sleeve will have to do.

Not that I plan on spending much time with Emerson, Lake, & Palmer. I just don't like seeing a record being needlessly scratched. (More on that later.)

I could make ten trips to a thrift store and walk out empty-handed, but it is this type of thing that keeps me coming back... masked and ready.