Goodwill Hunting

This Goodwill store has more drive up lanes than some banks.

  Every weekend that I don’t have a chess activity, Kathy and I go to the Goodwill and Salvation Army Thrift Stores. Both stores have mostly clothes for sale and provide a great service if you need some clothes but don’t have a lot of money. I think more of the Salvation Army store because anyone who is down on their luck can go to their office and get a voucher for clothes and furniture. The S.A. also collects food from the area stores and makes it available to needy people. The Goodwill store’s emphasis is to use their stores to provide jobs for hard to employ people. Both are worthy causes.


  While Kathy is looking for Christmas candles to add to her collection (at least 700) at the thrift stores, I look at the books. I’ve only found one chess book at a thrift store ‘1001 Checkmates’ by Fred Reinfeld at the Jonathon House store in Marshalltown.

  When the weather started getting nice, I started taking walks at lunchtime and a half mile where I worked was the Urbandale Goodwill store, so started walking there. I had high hopes for the book section as I approached the store. The store looked to be big and brand new with 3 drive up lanes for donations with 2 being used when I walked up.

  I always wonder how these books end up at a thrift store. Was the previous owner of the ‘Stress Management’ book cured of his stress problems and gave the book away to another did his family drop it off on their way to visit him at the nut house. I hope the previous owner of the ‘Automatic Millionaire Homeowner' book didn’t donate it on the way to the foreclosure hearing.



  These are the 3 books I picked out. I can read the ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ book while I’m walking, the ‘Trust Me’ book looked interesting, and I thought the ‘Communism’ book by J. Edgar Hoover could be a collector’s item (some copies go for $15). I was happy with the books I bought, but was disappointed at the rather high prices. The Salvation Army charges a dollar for hardcover books and 50 cents for paperbacks, but Goodwill charges 90 cents for a paperback and a dollar and a half for a hardcover. Still a bargain, though.

  On my next trip, I may get the book on how to sell and re-sell my photos. I’m sure the previous owner just dropped it off at the goodwill on his way to the bank. If not, I'll come back and get the 'Anti-Depressant Fact' book!