A Few Far Out Finds, Circa 1970

 "Runaway" as in, women running away as fast as they could?

I found this suggestive title at the Bensalem Goodwill for a dime. And it's worth every penny, if not for the cover photo alone. While categorized as psychology studies by means of non-verbal communication, Body Language (1971 edition) is just a tad pervy. Just one of the many selling points is learning the ability on "making advances without taking chances." And no lie, in just flipping through the book I encountered one account of a man literally following a woman and trying to "read" her walk for signs that she wanted to be approached by a random stranger on the street. Yup!

"A loose woman?"  Oh boy...

And just in case you missed it, here are those questions pertinent to exploring the fine art of body language. But don't worry, ladies. This isn't just a book that gives men a free pass to visually probe your body. Everybody has something to learn. Just check out the back cover.

Personal secrets of strangers, you say? Count me in!

Maybe it's the '70s style to just throw inhibitions to the wind when it comes to gendered sociological studies. Of course you must recall one of the more horrific thrift store finds, Body Watchin' Is Fun by "Chief Watcher" John L. Shirley. I'm tellin' ya, just straight up staring at people must have been all the rage in the '70s.  I'll have to read this "human potential book" and give you some pointers.

In the meantime...

Bust out those glow sticks, thrifters.

I found this vintage wood-encased strobe light with adjustable timing effects for $5 from 2nd Ave Value Store and was psyched to test it in-store and find that it still works like new. Woo woo! Here comes the thrift rave. Well...not entirely. I'm not one for the rave scene, never was. I did however have a specific project in mind with this luminescent little piece o' vintage.

Come in to the light, Carol Anne...

I bought this strobe light to specifically use for a video I'm going to shoot featuring none other than an animatronic clown. I'm also mixing some appropriately creepy music to score the video. It's going to haunt you for the rest of your days...and nights. Oh, yes. 

So there we have it, just a few bizarro thrift store wonders, straight out of the seventies. Ya dig?

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Let's Go Thrifting Recommends...

Come One, Come All To....

...The Creepy Time Spectacular! 


Turn the volume up, the lights down and expand to full-screen for some frightful thrifted finds set to some equally creepy music. 

I may not have a stage or a studio to display my creepy collection of thrifted playthings. But I still have YouTube, damn it! And this is just the first of what will be many videos, slideshows and perhaps even podcasts from Let's Go Thrifting! I hope to feature thrifted collections, thrifty tips, thrift-spirational stories and more. Be sure to tune in to the Let's Go Thrifting YouTube channel again in the future.

So, if I didn't scare you all away...what thrifted finds would be cast in your Creepy Time Spectacular? 

Don't forget to enter The Really Cool Notebook Giveaway!! 

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Let's Go Thrifting recommends...

Remember these grade school scares? 

Odds ‘n’ Ends Thursdays: Thrifted Clown Invasion

Welcome to the first installment of what will hopefully be the new editorial schedule of Let's Go Thrifting! This is Odds ‘n’ Ends Thursday. And the finds were surely odd, the end…nigh.

It has been a few weeks since the incident, so I decided to pay a visit to my neighborhood Goodwill. While my sister found a lovely orange skirt for the summer, what awaited me was not quite as festive.

They’ve talked. They’ve gathered and collaborated. And they’ve formed an army. They’re not happy about losing one of their ranks by my clumsy hands a few weeks ago. They’re ready for retaliation. The clowns…they’re everywhere.



This one is playing hide and seek…for your soul. Please god, don’t let this thing open its eyes. The horror!



Don’t let the cheery disguise fool you. These two are poised for attack. Their outstretched arms are aimed straight for the jugular.



Meet the leader in battle. It’s a sturdy beast, well over a foot high and intimidating. The dismembered hand under the contemplative face means only one thing: vengeance served cold. It practically lunged off the shelf at me as I passed.

I was able to make a clean exit unharmed and to document my surroundings for further research into the matter. But they are up to something. These clowns are planning a coup.

Busted

 

A few weeks ago, my best friend and I were running some errands before our weekly scheduled power walk when we decided to stop in to a nearby Goodwill. Browsing the aisles, amusing ourselves with the oddball assortment of coffee mugs and knick-knacks, I spotted a hobo clown on the top shelf. He had ragged clothing, a knapsack and –like many clowns often do—an expression that evoked nothing short of terror.

After returning him to the shelf and turning to walk away, I was startled by a crash as the hobo clown teetered off the edge and plummeted to the floor. His ceramic clown head shattered into a million clown head pieces on the floor. And I was mortified. To this day, I cannot recall ever dropping, damaging or breaking an item in any store, let alone a thrift store. Again, mortified.

An older gentleman swooshed out the double doors from the back room and came bustling down the back aisle. I couldn’t apologize enough as he swept the busted clown doll that was once creepy, but now rather pathetic.

After a few moments of red-faced browsing, my friend and I proceeded to the register to purchase a few found odd and ends. I asked the Goodwill employee if they had a box for monetary donations. He said that they had at one point, but now couldn’t seem to locate it. I quickly handed him $4 and simply said. “Well, here you go. I accidentally broke a clown.” He tried handing the money back to me and said that it wasn’t necessary. But I just couldn’t take the money back. And I briefly tried explaining my theory on Karma.

Me: “No, No. Please take the donation. I busted that clown and I don’t feel right not paying for it.”

Goodwill Employee: “Are you sure? You really don’t have to pay for the clown.”

Me: “I do. Because I know if I don’t donate the money for the clown I’ll always be haunted with Bad Thrift Karma and never find anything awesome ever again.”

And the employee accepted the donation and simply said “O….k...ay…” with the kind of bewilderment that my theory often invokes from certain people.

I’m sorry. But I am under the belief that if you do something wrong without apologizing and  rectifying the situation, that swift payback will surely befall you. And the thrift store is no different. So donate your unused goods, pay the cost without altering the price tag and for God’s sake, pay for broken clown heads.

In retrospect, I think the clown may have gotten his revenge, still. I have been thrifting a few times since, with friends and while alone and found a number of great, useful items. And as you’ve likely read from my previous post on my quest for better health, I’ve also been on quite a few scheduled power walks.

For five days a week I would take a stroll around the neighborhood, go to the gym for resistance training and count my Weight Watchers points. I estimated walking between 2-3.5 miles everyday, before going to work where I likely walk a few more.

Well apparently I’ve been just a little too motivated for exercise. After days of inexplicable pain in my right foot, I finally was able to see a doctor. And the x-ray reveals, with all of the repeated pressure to the area I have given myself a stress fracture in the metatarsal area and inflamed some previous tendinitis in my ankle.

So now I have to wear an unwieldy, uncomfortable and decidedly unfashionable support boot for the next 4-6 weeks. This means no power walks and no solo thrifting for a while, as I can’t drive with this…thing…this apparatus that can only be described as something straight of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory.

At the very least I have some time to commit to photographing old finds, brainstorming new ideas for the blog and adding items to my Thrift Wish List. But this also means I will be temporarily out of work, out of traditional exercise and out of the driver’s seat.

I guess it could always be worse. I could’ve been stuck with a cast and crutches. Those aren’t pleasant in the least, especially as we’re approaching a summer heat wave. At least I can kick off this boot for sleeping and showering. That is a major plus.

Well, I suppose it always pays to be more careful. No one likes being broken, even if only temporary. And thrift store finds sure don't like being mishandled. For now, dear readers, I am mostly house-bound. But of course I still fear any future wrath of that busted thrift store clown.

Clown, Deconstructed.

As any avid thrifter can tell you: there is no shortage of clown paraphernalia at your average thrift store. They’re on coffee mugs and cross-stitch art. They’re in porcelain and plaster. They’re lurking in the knick-knack area and within the depths of the stuffed toy bins.

And today we are featuring one, right here on Let’s Go Thrifting!

Direct from 2nd Ave for the low, low cost of 90 cents, we bring you a clown. That's right. For your entertainment and enlightenment we have captured a single clown for the purpose of a study in fear.

First Observation.
He looks harmless enough, with the lone poof ball on his starred costume and the welcoming gesture of his arms.

But upon closer inspection…


Second Observation.
Those eyebrows are rather…confrontational. And it seems his ruffles are flailing in anger, like the feathers on a bird of prey, poised to attack.

And closer, still…



Final Observation.
Those empty, soulless eyes. The marked furrow of his brow. The impossibly tiny red hat. These are all proven scientific features of a murderer. Especially the hat.

Conclusion.
Despite initial appearances, all clowns have impulses to maim, murder or at the very least, scare the living crap out of their owners.

Thrifters, beware. No matter how unassuming...No matter how cheap... a clown is a clown. It will juggle. It will make balloon animals. And it will get you while you’re sleeping.

Have you seen this clown?

This is Pennywise the Clown.  

If you find any clown-related merchandise that bares even the slightest semblance to him, for the love of God and all things holy, leave it be. Even if it only costs a penny at Goodwill, leave it  and run--don't walk--to the nearest exit.

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