Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Doing My Part for Charity
Okay, those three of you who also know Charity Pontsler and are thinking this post might be about her: it isn't. Nor is about her brother Erik and his walrus mustache. Except that I just mentioned them, so partly it is, mostly it's not.
It's about the $2.98 I dropped at St. Vincent de Paul's last night and what I scored with it. Okay, it's really about what I scored; the charity part, not so much.
So what can you get for under three bucks at StVdP?
- Singing in the Bathtub by John Lithgow
This is a musical CD with songs for kids and swing-band arrangements that don't drive adults insane. Price: $0.50 - I Spy Junior
This is a CD-ROM that works in Macs as well as PCs. Educational content for 3-5 year olds; Phil falls in the middle there. At the beginning of gameplay you enter your name in (or select it from a list); from time to time your name will show up in the in-game I Spy pictures (on blocks or beads or written on things) - Very cool!
Since it works on both operating systems, the boy won't have to monopolize Dina's laptop on long trips - wait a minute ... maybe that's not such a good thing after all. Price: $0.50 - My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
This is a favorite over at one of the blogs I frequent, faith*in*fiction, so I bought it to see what the big fat hairy deal is.
While standing at the large used-book section at St Vinnie's, I blanked out on the author's name - everything is alphabetized by author, so knowing his or her name helps. I scanned the shelves in the "Classics" section, but I didn't see the title. I flipped through some of the copies from the 70s and 80s that list "other books you might try" from the publishers' booklists, but the book wasn't listed anywhere.
Finally, I went over to the general fiction section and guessed at "Potok" as a place to start looking. Got it in one. Price: $0.99 - Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
A writing book with short essays on craft and technique. Saw it recommended somewhere, pulled it off the shelf and gave it a look-see. With chapter titles like "Fighting Tofu" and "Don't Marry the Fly," what's not to like. Price: $0.99
Okay, so it's not like I dropped a krugerrand in a Salvation Army kettle. Still, three bucks is three bucks.
Mikesell
