« A Good Day for Accidents | Main | Pizza »
January 11, 2005
My Cheap Clothes
After a break for the holidays tutoring started up again last night. During the day the tutoring coordinator called up the tutors to remind us all to start showing up again. My phone doesn't get reception in the building where I work so I didn't get the call, but she left a message.
It turns out there is one part of the building where I do get reception. The bathroom. I just stepped up the urinal and ... BUZZ. BUZZ. It surprised me, to say the least.
So I showed up at the family center only to find the girl whom I was to tutor wouldn't be coming in. Instead I got to tutor the girl that likes to critique my clothes.
"Eww. Green pants? Why you wearing green pants, boy? No one wears green pants. Around here you gotta wear jeans or khakis."
That was the first day I showed up to tutor. I have to say, however, that I did get "props" for my sweater.
Last night when she came in Greasy Hair Girl, or whatever her name is, said, "Eww. Checkers? You got to be kidding me."
"I call it plaid."
She grabbed my pants. "Eww. What are these made of?"
"Polyester."
"They definitely don't sell those at Wal Mart."
"No. I don't imagine they do."
"Well, you got to get yourself down to Wal Mart or something to get some new clothes. Where did you get them pants? The thrift store?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"No you didn't. You bought them pants at the thrift store? -- Hey y'all, he shops at the thrift store."
"Yep. It's cheap. I got these for $1.50."
"I don't wear nothing that cheap. My clothes gots to be at least 18, 19 dollars at Wal Mart. Nineteen ninety nine for a pair of pants. Not no dollar fifty."
I'm not sure when shopping at Wal Mart became resoundingly cooler than shopping at a thrift store.
Shows what I know never shopping there.
Maybe the prison laborers in China are putting out highly stylish clothes this season. Highly stylish, and of course cheap - you can't really beat Chinese prison wages, can you?
I mean, prisons in this country don't even pay a very high wage.
A couple months back a letter from the Maryland Women's Penitentiary landed on my stoop. It was from "Mom" addressed to no one in particular, but my address was clearly written in it. I read it and found "Mom" had one of the highest paying jobs in the joint making $1.10 a day, and though there was an expected pay change in the works her projected pay was to be only $2.85 a day.
If you think about it, that's not a lot. She had been in the slammer long enough to more than double her weight (she ballooned from a crack whorish 105 a more comfortable 215) she hadn't yet been able to save enough to buy herself a radio.
See if "Mom" will be shopping for those fancy, expensive clothes at Wal Mart any time soon.
Posted by calculatoronfire at January 11, 2005 01:47 PM
Comments
walmart is gay. and not in a good way. if your free tonight im hoping you'll come over to play around with music with emma and moi
carl
Posted by: carl at January 13, 2005 09:17 AM
I'm not free yesterday night, but maybe another night.
Saturday I'm going to the Talking Head. My friend's band, Monger, is playing. I will see you there. If you go. I'll try to get some new pants by then so I won't be seen in anything non-walmart looking.
I like the idea of my clothes looking like they come from a sexist, exploitative mega-corporation that refuses to let its employees unionize and continually (successfully) lobbies lawmakers to pass laws to help them avoid giving rights to their workers. It makes me look like I've got style.
Posted by: brian at January 14, 2005 02:00 PM