I
like charity shops, I like the idea of owning something pre-loved especially
books, it fascinates me to see what other people like to read, and it
fascinates me more when I buy a second hand book of poems and find some pages
folded at the very top right corner in a little triangle indicating that this
poem was a special one, one they’d want to come back to, one they’d like to
recite or read to a loved one on some joyful or sad occasion.
I once donated an
erotic book, I bought it on amazon but felt cheated by it, the description of
the book said it had 365 sex positions for each day of the year! I was shocked
of course that there were so many sex positions when I probably only knew
three! But I was also intrigued, so I bought the book and found that many of the
positions were repeated with a slight camera trick making the couple seem like
they were in a new position! *sigh* is nothing sacred anymore? Anyway I donated
the book and always wondered if anyone had bought it or how slutty the charity
shop I donated it to thought I was, mind you I wouldn’t need actual photographs
of people posing in different sexual positions to show me how it’s done if I
was truly slutty.
Back
to charity shops! I was passing one today and found a huge clear plastic tub
outside the door with what seemed like hundreds of mugs inside, some old and
worn out, some seem very new and shiny! I stood for a moment just staring at
the tub full of unwanted tea and coffee mugs; I had seen tubs full of books and
stuffed toys outside charity shops before but never a tub brimming with mugs.
It was different and somehow sad! All those mugs had once been filled with tea,
coffee, or warm milk, hot, aromatic and soothing, shared by family and close
friends; first meetings, reunions, the hurried morning coffee before work, the relaxing
cup of tea before bed, intimate unforgettable conversations while brooding over a warm mug held lovingly with both hands, so much warmth, so much tenderness, so many memories piled
up in a clear plastic tub.
