vintage tender_square the shop ladies used to set up their wares in the walker market. then, the owner shut down all the booths and kept the inventory strictly food or food-adjacent. which is how the two of them ended up in the co-op community center near the beach, combining their stockpiles. the three-hundred-square-foot space had once served as a dance floor when justina's mom rented it out to commemorate our grade eight graduation. the two ladies, with their short andesite hair, were pushy salespeople, commenting on every piece amanda and i studied. much of their stock had been recycled from a previous sale, rehauled to the site as money not yet earned. i did see a pair of red slingback wedges in my size with the outline of lips cut out of the heel that looked like something grandma grace would've worn. then, there was a dreamy medieval dress with 70s floral i tried on that channeled princess buttercup but squished my breasts. a camel wool cape amanda eyed reminded me of one i bought from casa chevela and donated years before. i nearly bought a beaded 1940's handbag with subtle cherry blossoms because it was so beautiful; i felt i couldn't justify the forty dollar price tag. maybe it's not about use value so much as temporarily owning a piece of well-crafted and cared-for history, possessing something glamorous for the sake of soaking up its energy. 230311 ... epitome of incomprehensibility At Eva_B, only certain wares have a tag with "Vintage" or "Vint." on them. "Vint." reminds me twice of wine: vintage, vin. But wine isn't swirls of vivid blue and green, like the fabric of the pristine miniature purse priced at $5, tagged "Vint." Too bad it was nothing I sought. I have a purse, purple and silver crafted, woven with soft-drink can tabs like chain mail - a little metal armour to encase my hippie pastels and blue-purple-pinks. 230311 what's it to you? who go blather from