A nice weekend with RQS - Part 2

 

 

I don't know much about the above "vehicle", but it can be yours for only $950.  It seats 1 person, does not look like it is street legal, and I don't know how it's powered.  But, for $950, you can have a well worn "golf cart" built for 1.

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RQS and I passed by this contraption today, and we are just as mystified about its use as we are about its owner.  What was it used for?  Does it work?  How far can it go?  There was a open parking spot across the street from RQS's place, just i front of this contraption, but I wasn't able to move my car to take that spot in time.  After letting a couple of MTA buses go by, I circled the block and double parked while RQS and I loaded some charitable donations into the trunk (and back seat) of my car.  Once the car was fully loaded, it was off to the Salvation Army to make our donation.

Before I go on much longer, I must note that many of the old stand by donation shops are no longer in business.  Most of the Goodwill shops are gone around here, as well as the Salvation Army shops.  So we had to make phone calls to find an available store open for donations.  And we found one in Elmont, NY.

Traveling from Glendale (Queens county) to Elmont (Nassau County) is a relatively quick trip as long as there is no traffic on the parkways.  We made it to the Salvation Army in roughly 40 minutes, and pulled into the parking lot.  About 15 minutes later, we left with most of her stuff out of the car, with only the arts and crafts stuff bound for the dumpster.  At that point, we took a "scenic" drive through Nassau County, making an Arby's in East Meadow our turn around point.  (BTW: We both had a strong hankering for thinly shaved roast beef sandwiches, and it was sated!)

About an hour later, we were back at RQS's house, where I dropped her off.  And then, it was off to fight rush hour traffic on my way home.

It's getting harder and harder to make charitable donations

 

I used to have no problem getting rid of clothing I no longer needed.  When my wife died, I brought at least 15 large bags of clothing to a local charity - and they were grateful to get it.  Today, with Covid-19 causing many thrift shops to close, it's much harder to get rid of extra clothing without putting it into the roadside bins without receiving a receipt for a charitable donation.

When the LGBT center's thrift shop was open, I used to bring bags of clothing there for resale - and I know that it did the center good.  However, Covid-19 forced the center to make a hard decision, and they closed down the thrift shop.  Luckily, I knew of a few places that still accepted clothing donations.  But they had limited store hours, most closing at 5 pm.  AARGH!  Since I didn't want to wait until I got back from vacation to make my donations, I drove to a nearby donation center - and arrived a minute before closing.  (Their lights had just been turned off as I pulled into the place.)  So they reopened just to take my bags (and of the woman ahead of me), and get us out of there as quickly as possible.

I have nothing against this place, and I will likely use them again.  But I intend to use Goodwill for my next donation, and see what receipt I get from them.  If I'm lucky, I'll get the type of receipt that my accountant can use to maximal advantage at tax time....