Clothes in a Haystack

Clothes in a Haystack

I’m in Manhattan Beach (MB on bumper stickers), an upscale coastal town in Southern California (SoCal to West-Coasters).

Yesterday my two granddaughters, ages 13 and 14, rode their bikes to MB, 5 miles north on a bike path they call The Strand which runs along the beach like a cement boardwalk. The girls returned raving about a particular store they visited, that they referred to as L-F.

“Lif?” I said, pronouncing a word that sounded like if.

“L then F,” they shot back, giggling.

What did I know?

 Apparently Anna had spotted a “top” or two that she "definitely really, really" wanted.

“It’s their annual three day sale. Everything is 60% off,” she announced to all.

Daughter Brett, mother of Anna, was not impressed. As for L-F prices, “way up there” was Brett's  phrase, then adding, “Minus 60%, not even a drop in the bucket.”

Hmmmmm.
   

Anna pressed on. As I saw it, her strategy was long term, persistence without end, until someone relents and agrees to transport them to L-F ... and bring a credit card.

Who would that be? Credit card, I mean.

Brett didn’t drop her objection, but her tone softened as the evening wore on. I could see it was a done deal.

So I was on board. I had not listened intently to all of Anna’s accolades about L-F, but I caught enough to know that I'd be on the hook for an item or two. But hey, it was 60% off. How bad could it be?     

We rode over the following afternoon.

On the way, I said, “I hope your tops are not gone.”

“I hid them.” Anna said.

“Where would that be?” I said, a bit skeptical.

“Under stuff.”

I still wasn’t convinced. I hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed.

Here’s what I saw when we walked in:

 

         

Let's just say, "Everything was under stuff."  I strolled around for a bit. 

 

"Just looking," I said to a clerk. 

 

Eventually, I went outside and stood by a parking meter. I was in and out - parking meter / just looking - for maybe an hour or more. Time passed. There was little doubt that Anna's search would be a long process.

In case you haven’t figured it out as yet, twelve year olds are much more adept at various tasks than the guardian class (us). I don’t care if I had tied a radioactive isotope to each garment that Anna had hidden, then searched with a Geiger counter, I would never, NEVER, have found anything, much less what I was looking for in this "haystack" known as L-F. On every table, every rack, and shelf there were gigantic piles of clothes that resembled humongous laundromat loads of wet wash (see images above). I could only think, "needle in the haystack." In a word, hopeless.

To my amazement, Anna found all four items.

So that was it, the great L-F sale. Hmm.

I couldn't believe this place, especially the the whole laundromat mess, but then no one else seemed to mind. There were plenty of customers.

What did I know?

Anna mercifully settled on just two items, both  tops. Total price $102.02. Without the sale discount we’re talking a regular price tally of $255.05 for the two pieces, each with an approximate fabric mass of a handkerchief.

 The good news? I saved over $150.