Whenever my sister-in-law cleans out her closet, I often receive a bag of clothes to rummage through to see if I want anything before they end up in a clothing donation bin. She has some really nice clothes and I'm not too proud to accept the kind donation. There are often things that just aren't my style but I have gotten some nice things from her.
Recently, Lauren returned home from visiting her aunt with a bag of clothes for me. These jeans were in the bag. I'm not quite sure what the story is behind them. I wondered if she had come across some of her old clothes from the 80's or something. If only I still had my Ropers I could wear them with the ones that look like chaps to the Rodeo, and the baseball ones would show my team spirit at an Astros game. Ha! Needless to say the jeans eventually made their way to Goodwill. It's hard for me to imagine my sister-in-law actually wearing them. I'm tempted to ask her if she ever actually wore them in public but don't want her to cut me off of the hand-me-down recipient list.
Seeing these jeans reminded me of a joke I once played on my friend, Vicki, when I visited her in Michigan a few years ago. Someone near and dear to me (no names mentioned) bought me a sweatshirt for Christmas that year. It was a nice sweatshirt (for an eighty-year-old grandmother) but it was so not for me. It was navy blue with three big, brightly decorated Christmas trees across the front. It had a high collar, was somewhat gawdy and very grandmotherly looking. A pair of blinking Rudolph earrings would've been a great way to further accent the flashiness of the shirt. I know, I know, it's the thought that counts, but really, she shouldn’t have! It was definitely a white elephant kind of gift that was sure to find itself in my next garage sale. I believe it came from the Dollar Store. Hey, I love the Dollar Store and all, I'm just saying........
So, as I was packing for my trip to Michigan I decided to pack the sweatshirt that still had the tags attached and give it to Vicki as a "gift". After I got there and settled in, I took it out of my suitcase. I took a good look at it before folding it back up and preparing to give it to her with a straight face. I went to her room and told her that I had brought her something. I handed it to her and she slowly unfolded it. I was totally expecting her to put on an academy award winning performance, you know, trying to act all grateful and pleased with my generosity (kind of like I did when I got it). I was actually surprised when she immediately burst into laughter. She never even hesitated before cracking up. I didn’t even get a forced or obligatory thank you. I kept asking her, “But, what if it hadn’t been a joke? What if I had been serious? Wouldn’t you feel bad?” She kept saying there was no question in her mind as soon as she saw it. I told you it was gawdy.
In the end I think the shirt eventually made its way back to Texas and was re-gifted to someone in her family as a joke. Who knows where it is now. I hope it finally found an appreciative owner in a retirement home somewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment