Hidden gems, in the most unlikely of places...

My dear, sweet 75 year old grandma spends much of her free time volunteering and participating at the Whitby Senior’s Centre. One of her weekly activities is the Wednesday afternoon craft group, where the ladies make various knick knacks, and jingly things, and odd, knitted pieces of wear, all of which are then donated to be sold at the annual Christmas bazaar to raise funds for the Centre. Every year my mom makes the effort to go out to the bazaar and support my grandma, and every year my grandma makes an equal effort to ensure that my mother gets the best deal possible on her purchases – ie: so cheap it might as well be free, to borrow the sentiment from Joel Plaskett.
 

This year, seeing as I am a bum of an unemployed, university graduate, with seemingly nothing better to do with my Saturday morning, my mother informed me that I would be accompanying her to the bazaar. Moral support or something. Not that I would put up much of a fight, I don’t, afterall, have much else to do with my time. Nonetheless, I went into the bazaar thinking there wouldn’t be much to interest a 24 year old, penniless, bum of a university graduate. And for the most part I was right. But then, just past the table with the knitted hats, and scarves, and mitts, I saw it: the vinyl table – and I don’t mean the kinky kind of vinyl. I mean, vinyl records.
 

Yes, they had vinyl records for sale, and for the unbeatable price of 50 cents a record! I saw a glorious light illuminating the table. I heard angels singing. I may have let out a squeal of delight. I love old vinyl records, but even more, I love a good deal. So, I ambled up to the table and perused. Granted, on further inspection, the selection wasn’t nearly as titillating as I may have first imagined, but I did manage to spend a whole two dollars!!!
 

This is what I brought home:
        > Hooked on Classics – to go along with my copy of Hooked on Swing
        > Turned on Christmas – which I sneakily suspect is the holiday equivalent of the Hooked on… series
        > The Sound of Music Film Soundtrack – moreso for my friend David, than for me; and
        > The Platters Greatest Hits – with such classics as Twilight Time, The Great Pretender, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Only You.

Pretty good for two bucks, and at the senior’s Christmas bazaar of all places. I may have to go to more bazaars from now on. But more than anything, it just goes to show, I guess, that you can find nuggets of musical delight anywhere.