Fifty Cents

Today I spent the morning shopping at local thrift stores, looking for treasures and trying to pass the time. When Pam would hear that I was going garage saling, she would sometimes tell me to buy her something for 50 cents. Not a dollar, that was too much...just 50 cents. Once I found her a clip-on lipstick mirror, and you would have thought I had given her a million dollars. So I figured I would keep my eye out for a little statue or a dog, or anything that I could find on the tchachki shelf to buy for her birthday.

After about an hour at the first store, I had nothing. No clothes for the kids, no funky plates, no quirky mugs. And nothing that called out Pam's name. I crossed the street to Volunteers of America and started over....but to my dismay I made it through the huge warehouse in record time, with a few clothes but no 50 cent gem. As I approached the last corner, I noticed that someone had turned up the music...the tune was familiar. After a few beats I was singing along..."I wanna soak up the sun, wanna tell everyone to lighten up!" For real! Pam was OBSESSED with this song the first time we went to SeaPointe. It had serious significance! She played it dozens of times as we scrolled through the beach pictures. When it ended, she would jump up and say "Wait! Wait! Let me start it over. Wait! I got it, I got it!"

When I realized what I was singing, I stopped in my tracks and looked over to the nearest shelf. I expected that I would see the one thing I was meant to buy. There were some blue plastic cars, an astronomy set, and two little dolls wrapped in plastic. There was a giant Barbie head with hair you could style, maybe that was it? It didn't seem right, though, so I moved on to the kids clothes and just kept singing.

After finding a few shirts for Michael, I had to walk back past the shelf, so I took a second look. All the same stuff, except for this time I noticed a little angel in a bin. A really weird looking angel. Yes, Pammie loved angels, but I was not convinced. I turned her over to read the back of the package, nothing there. Just as I was about to put her down and leave, I noticed it. My significance...
She lives with me now. And by the way, she cost 30 cents plus tax.