Giving Thanks--A Lucky Story

my house was too dark. It really needed overhead lighting but I'm not an electrician. When I was rich we had these torch lamps that really lit up a room pretty good for a floor lamp. So I went in search of this lamp (I didn't buy the originals so I didn't really know quite what to look for)

Anyway, online there were 2 basic sorts of torch lamps. Cheapies and Super Expensive. Nothing in between. I was going to take a chance on ordering a cheapy, then remembered my favorite home decor store, my own personal IKEA

The Salvation Army.

I drove there on a Wednesday. Everything is half off. They had a bunch of tall standing torch lamps. Some were the

cheapies, some were more expensive but in terrible shape (rust...dangling wires, broken bulbs)

 I found a solid intact lamp, bulb looked good (these are weird bulbs you have to get special so I knew it was the real deal)...a little rust, a lot of dust, but basically a gem in a shit hole. And it was marked $6.00 (way too low but sometimes people switch tags around)

which is what the clerk said to me when I went to check out. "That's not a $6. lamp!" Luckily it was near closing time, there were people behind me, so she just shouts out, Hey Harry (or whoever) get me a price on this lamp. It's not $6.!)

poor Harry was trying to carry stuff out for someone else. He glanced at the lamp. $8.

ok! Half off, that's $4.

yay. Then it almost doesn't fit in my car it's so tall. But my car is a Honda FIT and it is aptly named. The lamp fit diagonally across the whole car with all the seat backs down.

I took my lamp home. Set it up. It worked. It was absolutely perfect. It's lighting my living room now, next to the desk where I do my nail art. It has a rheostat. It's the most awesome lamp. My guess is, new, it must have cost over $100. 

Sometimes you get lucky