New Toy

Dodging past racks of worn clothes and abandoned baby toys, I marched my way to the front of the store clutching a black Polaroid camera. I had found my prize.

We stopped at a local thrift store today, and I couldn’t help indulge my guilty pleasure of salvage shopping.

Buried behind plastic point and shoot cameras I spotted an unusual black box with silver lettering: Polaroid.

It was love at first sight. Next thing I knew I was at the counter, trying to play it cool as I asked the price. I held my breath as the cashier asked the manager. How much would I willing to pay? I wondered

A dollar fifty, she said.

I’ll take it, I said.

With a bag full of three vintage books and a new old camera, I climbed back into the car grinning like a fool.