Today I did a very middle-American thing--I ran errands in the car. I even parked my car in parking lots, an even more middle-American thing to do in my opinion. Not for me the gritty urbanism of taking the bus or parallel parking on a busy street. No sir, I choose the parking lot!

Of course, in one of those parking lots I was nearly run over by a rampaging Chips Ahoy! truck. Is this suburbia at its worst or urban living rearing its head after all?

The main reason for taking the car, however, was dropping off two garbage bags of old clothes at the Salvation Army. I do this about once a year; alas, I have never been organized enough to keep track of what I give away, much to our tax preparer's despair.

This year, I did make a list. (I did not, unfortunately, get a receipt, so we may still have tears at tax time.) Looking back at the list, however, is instructive. It reveals to me the mistakes, the things I outgrew, the things that worked for a while but ultimately did not make the cut.

There are also some funny juxtapositions. Is the person who owned "two spandex miniskirts" really the same person as the one who owned the always-too-big pleated front navy chinos and the always-too-small navy cords? Fare thee well, "orange bowling shirt" and "black lycra dress." Ciao, purple angora/lambswool cardigan that I wore to my post-wedding party, but which later developed an unmendable hole in the back. See ya later, terribly "Ally McBeal"-esque cream suit and green silk miniskirt and top, both purchased in desparation for various weddings.

It's also instructive to see what items got the call from the governor at the last minute. Yes, the purple cashmere V-neck and the yellow lambswool V-neck that dates from 1985 were rescued once again (!). We'll see if they can rehabilitate themselves and become productive members of society.

If not, they may join some other items in the "clothes museum" box, meaning things I can't throw away for sentimental reasons. Mostly this box currently consists of old rock T-shirts that I don't wear, but can't get rid of. Items in here include:

- T-shirts for friends' bands, such as The Smears, TBW!, and the ECC
- A relic from a 1984 Cheap Trick appearance at the Ohio State Fair
- A green and orange acrylic scarf with David Bowie's picture on it, brought back to me from London in the early '80s by a friend's dad
- A shirt from a 1984 art exhibit in the East Village (note: I was not actually in New York in 1984)
- A yard of lace my grandmother brought back for me from Switzerland
- Old shirts from the Uptown Cafe, WQAX (angry duck years), etc.

There's also some miscellaneous jewelry, which includes this cute little pig ring. No doubt given to me by a whimsical friend, the pig has movable arms and legs and detailed face and snout-work.

It's a cute thing, but I can't remember which whimsical friend gave it to me. If it was you, please let me know. (Hint: If you got here via a Google search for "Black lycra dresses" you might want to sit this one out.)