Donna Sprague THIS TOO SHALL PASS “Needful Things” Sometimes I get a strong urge to go and look around in little shops, or fairs, but most of them are far away. Poking around on shelves of books and little knick knacks and cases of jewelry reminds me of going to visit my Aunt Mable with my parents. She lived in a little efficiency apartment on the North Shore, which was packed with boxes of lacy floral material, scarves, ancient books, odds and ends, and, my favorite, costume jewelry. I always left those visits with a treasure of some kind. I suspect she would be labeled a “hoarder” these days, but back then, she was my personal goddess of random stuff Imagine my delight, on my way to the post office a few days ago, when I noticed right near Joy and Karen’s beauty shop, a bunch of people carrying framed pictures, furniture, books… into a space which has been vacant for a while now. Soon, just down the street, it will be a new consignment store, called Needful Things. Owners Mike and Shawnte, are moving their shop from Weymouth to Plainville, and I could not be happier. They will take consignment articles and donations. When a donated item is sold, that money will be given to the March of Dimes, Autism Awareness or the Neuroblastoma Foundation. Back in 1991, Stephen, the King of creepy, wrote a book entitled “Needful Things”, about a strange man who ran an even stranger shop, where visitors would magically find just the exact item they had been craving, and for very low prices, which ensured the sale. The story was, of course, Stephen King dark, but the only similarity to that shop and this new one, is the name. When I was a bit older than the Aunt Mable times, I still enjoyed treasure hunting, and still do today. When the kids were little they loved the van trips to yard sales and the big indoor flea markets in the area, where each child could find a special thing. I like buying clothes at thrift and consignment stores because if they fit comfortably, they won’t shrink because they’ve been washed and dried many times. My children wore thrift shop clothes much of the time when I discovered with the first, Lisabelle, how fast the little critters outgrow expensive outfits. Once, at a thrift store on Roosevelt Island with Sarah, I bought a large hobo style brown leather Coach shoulder bag and a pair of Keen sandals for a total of $4. That was a shopping spree dreams are made of! New to us is fun because it brings new energy into our lives and satisfies in a small way the human need for change. Satisfies temporarily, and then, of course, unless we happen to be circus acrobats or day traders living on the edge, the need arises again. I enjoy holding an article that someone held long ago, and imagining who they were and what life was like for that person the moment they held it for the first time. Re-sale shops have been around forever and are the best example of recycling I can think of. The main magic about a needful thing, is that you never know you need it… until you see it.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:39:25 +0000
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