I saw my pink and orange striped sweater on a lady down in Twisp last week. Haven’t seen it since the day I donated it to the Little Star School yard sale seven years ago…proving again that once something arrives in the Methow Valley it never leaves.
There’s always a little twinge of jealousy when I see my former clothes looking better on somebody else. “I should have kept that,” I inwardly fret, forgetting how bad it looked on me.
When it gets really fun is when I show up at an event in something that once belonged to somebody else and she shows up wearing something that once belonged to me. Sort of a reverse rummage encounter.
Part of the reason stuff stays here is because there is only one reliable way out. You can exit the Valley south at Pateros all year, but Highway 20 going north is only open when the DOT decides the road over Washington Pass is safe, usually about six months out of the year. Once things get here, they are generally stuck.
Those of the “cosmic consciousness” bent, and there are plenty of those in the Valley, might say there’s a special magnetic field here holding all the good stuff in place.
The other point is that people are reluctant to send anything out that might be useful to their neighbors. We all know how much gas and time it takes to get to Wenatchee or Omak, the closest shopping centers. Better to give it away or sell it locally and save somebody a trip.
Clothes aren’t the only things that rotate. I still see my old Isuzu Trooper around town, and it’s gone through three more owners that I know of. Furniture changes homes too. There are a couple of classic sofas that are still around after close to 30 years. Maybe that’s explained by a Valley notion that function is always more important than fashion. Who but your neighbors are going to see it anyway?
When it does get a little embarrassing is when you go to a yard sale or the senior citizens rummage room and without recognizing it, buy back something that you donated a few years before.
Hand-me-downs and hand-me-arounds are a way of life here. The watchword in the Methow Valley is this: If it’s new to you, it’s as good as new.
This first appeared in the Wenatchee World.
There’s always a little twinge of jealousy when I see my former clothes looking better on somebody else. “I should have kept that,” I inwardly fret, forgetting how bad it looked on me.
When it gets really fun is when I show up at an event in something that once belonged to somebody else and she shows up wearing something that once belonged to me. Sort of a reverse rummage encounter.
Part of the reason stuff stays here is because there is only one reliable way out. You can exit the Valley south at Pateros all year, but Highway 20 going north is only open when the DOT decides the road over Washington Pass is safe, usually about six months out of the year. Once things get here, they are generally stuck.
Those of the “cosmic consciousness” bent, and there are plenty of those in the Valley, might say there’s a special magnetic field here holding all the good stuff in place.
The other point is that people are reluctant to send anything out that might be useful to their neighbors. We all know how much gas and time it takes to get to Wenatchee or Omak, the closest shopping centers. Better to give it away or sell it locally and save somebody a trip.
Clothes aren’t the only things that rotate. I still see my old Isuzu Trooper around town, and it’s gone through three more owners that I know of. Furniture changes homes too. There are a couple of classic sofas that are still around after close to 30 years. Maybe that’s explained by a Valley notion that function is always more important than fashion. Who but your neighbors are going to see it anyway?
When it does get a little embarrassing is when you go to a yard sale or the senior citizens rummage room and without recognizing it, buy back something that you donated a few years before.
Hand-me-downs and hand-me-arounds are a way of life here. The watchword in the Methow Valley is this: If it’s new to you, it’s as good as new.
This first appeared in the Wenatchee World.
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