I Have No Idea Who Made This...But I'm Sure There's A Story Behind It

 I admit, when I first saw the thing I laughed. It was, in a word, ridiculous. I've seen many apparatuses (or is it apparati...?) mounted on platforms, but I had to take a double-take when I spotted the red tricycle at our local thrift store.

It was one of a kind.

My wife spotted it, too. It was hard to miss, honestly. We even chatted about it after we left. I tried to make a joke, but my wife brought up the prospect that maybe someone built the thing for a special purpose...

Like, for a handicapped child.

That changed my perspective completely.

Then, the funny looking amalgamation of metal, plastic, and rubber became something else.

I did a quick internet search to see if this was mass-produced or a one-off. No matter what I entered into the search engine, I couldn't find anything that came even close to this thing. That, in and of itself, is unusual. It deepened the mystery.

When thrifting, you come across many strange things, things you may not quite understand. This piece is a prime example. There's got to be a story behind it...I just wonder what that story is...

I'll probably never know.

The Way Things Once Were...

 We traveled to the county seat of Box Elder County this morning to visit our new grandson. We had some time to kill before they were home so we stopped in at the local thrift store. It's a small one, but clean and organized (for the most part...). Inside there were some of things we could have used, a lot of things we didn't need, and even things no one needs.

Such is the way of things and thrift stores.

But, it wasn't until I stopped at one particular tub that made me stop and snap a picture. 

At first, I thought they were socks--new, still in the package. Socks are good. We need socks. I checked it out. Were they socks?

Nope.

They were masks.

In the storage tub were dozens--maybe hundreds--of masks. There were ordered by the local Box Elder High School...Home of the Bees. For some reason I'll always remember Box Elder being the Home of the Bees, because as a freshman attending Davis High School (Home of the Darts...), Davis played Box Elder in the first high school homecoming football game of my high school career. And, I believe Davis beat the Bees back in the fall of 1980.

Getting back to my story, I looked those unused cloth masks from 2021. I'm thinking they were ordered for graduation, two years ago this summer. For me, timelines, as far as when things were required at not required during the pandemic are fuzzy. I don't know if by June 2021 we had ditched the masks or not. I do know that in Northern Utah, we ditched things before other parts of the country. I guess that's how it was living in sticks.

I'm no doctor or scientist, nor do I have specific facts about the usefulness of the masks, but I'm guessing simple cloth masks would not be helpful at this time, so that tub of masks will most likely get thrown out at some point, tossed in the local landfill.

It's funny how just seeing something as simple as a mask can bring us back to a previous time...to the way things once were.

Previously-Owned Vans...My Humble Collection

 I have more pairs of shoes than my wife. I think, except for my daughter, I have more pairs of shoes than my wife and my sons. This is not something I actively pursued...it was more of a passive activity.

Shoe collecting.

Now, I'm in no way a big collector. To say I have more pairs of shoes than the rest of my family is not a big deal. Some of them only have a couple of pairs of shoes. Plus, of all the shoes I bought, only a few I paid retail. Almost all my shoes were bought at yard sales or thrift stores. And the shoes I find myself gravitating toward lately, are Vans.

Years ago, I used to buy dress shoes. I have several pair of Allen Edmonds. Once I recognized the brand, I found them quite regularly. Fast forward a few years and since I work at home, I almost never wear dress shoes. The luster has faded. Now that I'm home almost 100% of the time, I'm looking for comfort, casual footwear.

I think I had a pair of Vans when I was in high school...hard to remember, it's been almost forty years (still can't believe that...). It's not that they're the greatest shoe ever produced, but they are comfortable. I found a pair a few years back, unicolored, black. I wore them a lot, so much so, I wore a hole in the toe of one shoe. I still have them. The next pair was a teal and black combo with laces. I prefer laceless shoes, but when you're shopping at a thrift store, choosey is almost never an option.

Last year, a new thrift store opened up in our town and that's where I've found two of my favorite pairs of shoes, the black Vans with a white stripe, and the classic black and white checkered Spicolis. 

I wear those all the time now.

Each time I visit a thrift store, I check out the shoes. It's not the first place I check, but before I leave, I make it a point to scan the racks. I like wearing shoes out and considering my age, there's no way I'll ever wear all out the shoes I own. I don't need another pair, but if I spot another pair of Vans (or Converse, for that matter...) in my size that are not completely falling apart, I'll probably pick them up. Then, my biggest decision will be (as it is today...), which pair to wear?