A couple of months ago I assisted Michelle K with a garage sale; and as I was basking in the success of my sales; I recalled my Mom's friend, Rhoda, "The Bloomer lady." My Mom had met Rhoda when I was in elementary school; and she was on a morning, bowling league. Rhoda was "The bloomer lady;" and she would go to the bowling alley and sell underwear (bloomer's to old school New Yorker's) out of the trunk of her car. Rhoda's husband had set her up with a little business; and she had certain underwear warehouses that she went to, and she had boxes of different size underwear that she would tote around in her car. I'm sure that the bowling alley wasn't her only stop; but it was a great place for her to cultivate a clientele. I remember being home one day after school, and my mom's friend, Lynn called to say that the bloomer lady was at her house, so if we needed anything, we should come over. We went straight to Lynn's house, (is it any wonder that #9 on the "100 MORE Random Things About Me" list, is "I love to buy new underwear.") And even though I couldn't have been more than ten at the time; to this day I remember getting a pair of bright orange underwear with suns and kites on it. Yah, she had snazzy stuff like that...
As years went by, Rhoda expanded her business. She no longer sold bloomers exclusively, but offered women's blouses and tops as well. As a matter of fact; I remember that back in the 80's when sweatshirts with fringe were all the rage; my mom bought me several of them from Rhoda. Now I'm sure that you're wondering how I went from writing about garage sales to the bloomer lady; but the answer is simple (if you understand "The Bumpy Ride," that is.) I was thinking about Rhoda during the sale because I was admiring her entrepreneurial spirit. She paid no rent to sell underwear from her trunk; or from people's houses; and ultimately, she created a lucrative business for herself. So I started thinking; "HMMM; maybe I want to be the bloomer lady." I put that thought aside; since we all know that I want to be the writer lady; but today I was talking to Christina (the lady that cuts our hair;) and I asked her if she'd gotten anymore purses; because a few months ago she had tried selling some. Christina explained that she sold what she had, but that she wasn't going to do it again, because people didn't seem to have money to buy luxuries right now; and sadly, a purse can be a luxury. I cheerfully, said "then maybe you should sell underwear." And once again I thought of Rhoda. I told Christina the story of Rhoda, "The bloomer lady;" and I mentioned that I'd considered blogging about her before; and since this is the second time in a short while that I've thought about her; I figured that today would be the perfect day.
It's so funny how you can go years and years without thinking of a person or a situation; and then all of a sudden they or it is at the forefront of your mind. Who knows, maybe one day I will be the new, bloomer lady; but for now, It's just my pleasure to write about her.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
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