Author Archives: Al Hoff

You must have your own Holy Grail, some infinitely unattainable object, surely imbued with the power to change your life. Mine was pure linen bedsheets. I didn’t even know what it’d be like to sleep on fine linen, but I sure liked the idea. My quest was nearing 20 years. Finding linen sheets secondhand was […]

I rarely shop behind the counter, where most thrift stores keep their “valuables” –the usual collection of knives, jewelry, CDs, overpriced glassware, and Precious Moments figurines. But I always take a minute to scan the stuff anyway. I like to know I’ve seen everything. This time my eye is caught by a nine-inch-high 50s-style plastic […]

Today my obsession is old country-and-western music. Already this morning I’ve crawled butt-up in a skirt across the filthy floor to retrieve some records that had fallen beneath the bins. But the first two thrift stores bottomed out, and I can feel my early-morning ardor fading. And this Unique, so busy by noon, has such […]

I never find anything good amid the leavings at the smallish Salvation Army in Wicker Park. But each time I pass it, I drop in. Why not? This may be the day that some supercalifragilistic item gets put out just for me instead of one of the hundreds of latte-charged browsers that prowl Milwaukee Avenue. […]