Sales, Self-Defense, & Shoes

I. Sales Updates

I mention thrift-store stuff here, and then I don't always report back--not that it's necessarily memorable stuff.
But just to record that it was a week before someone claimed the "Win a Free Book--Name the Novel" quiz I'd stuck up on a bookshelf:
an old man correctly named The Old Man and the Sea.

I wish I'd been at the cash register to meet him.  The least emotive cashier, Noa, checked him out, and I can never get much feeling or even information from her, nor does she engage with customers much. I asked her, what book did he choose for free?
She didn't notice.

The vintage, eighty-dollar Lilli Ann coat sold to a woman within a couple days.
The emotive cashier, Samantha, told me about it with enthusiasm:
"I told her how we'd all tried it on, and I can report that it's going to a good home!"

[I would say these two women, who are about the same age, display classic and opposite reactions to Adverse Life Experiences.
Noa is withdrawn and doesn't talk about her troubles, though I know she has some doozies. She's wary, like wildcat Robinson was when I first met him.

Samantha, on the other hand, talks vividly about troubles ("my ex stomped on my face!"). She runs toward experience and emotion. She reminds me of the line from the movie Moonstruck:
"You run to the wolf . . . ; that don't make you no lamb."
(Clip here on youtube, with Cher & Nicholas Cage.)]

Also, all the old black-and-white photos I'd framed sold right away. I was a little sorry to see them go so fast--I like to have them around to look at. Sometimes I want to keep one for myself, but I rarely do.

II. Self-Defense

Tomorrow evening is The Wedding!
A little weirdly, I've signed up for a two-hour Non-lethal Self-defense Training beforehand, at my old gym, from Protection Far Left of Center.
My former gym guy, Ben, sent out an email:
"The topic is non-lethal self-defense (flashlights and such), as well as firearms familiarization.  Mick is an incredibly experienced teacher and ally, as well as an intense, engaging instructor. 
The plan is to have a break between non-lethal and firearms familiarization training so anyone who is uncomfortable with firearms can split beforehand. :)"

I want to take this class because of how dangerous it is around the thrift store. I'd like to know more about general deescalation--something I've suggested we get training in at the store. (Of course we haven't, except the hostage-negotiation tips from Chris Voss that I talked about at a meeting once.)

"Uncomfortable with firearms", however... that would be me. Not for moral reasons (though that too), but because my mother killed herself with a gun. Twenty years ago, this upcoming Winter Solstice.
I don't think about it much anymore, but I doubt it's ever going to be long-ago enough that my gorge doesn't rise when I think of a physical gun.
I appreciate they'll have a break before the guns come out, when people can leave.

More fun stuff, though:
III. Shoes

bink took me to Macy's yesterday to buy shoes for the wedding--it was the only thing I couldn't find at the thrift store.
For the sake of my feet, I don't buy used shoes for regular use. I'd have bought a pair for one-time show, if we'd had anything good that fit. But we didn't.

Macy's has a Last Chance area, and I found a new pair of "lemongrass" colored, (low-)high-heeled espadrilles, originally $90, for $30.
Now I'll have nice shoes for other (rare) dress-up events too.

Manageress has been excited to help me find accessories for the wedding. She loves fashion. She wears old clothes to work, naturally, but she shows me photos of herself going out with friends, looking stunning.
She gave me her own new tube of Revlon Super-Lustrous nude lipstick, and yesterday she helped me choose some earrings--I have several pairs to try on.

I'll post wedding photos after tomorrow.