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Old Things

“I continue to be interested in new things that seem old, and old things that seem new.” Jacquelin T. Robinson

It's a bit daunting to know that the things you grew up with are now considered antiques—or I should say, “mid-century modern.” What does that make me, I wonder. Well if you want to take a walk down memory lane, I have just the place for you. It's called, “What's On 2^nd,” and is located on 2^nd Ave. North in Birmingham. It's not your grandmother's antique store with loads of Baroque furniture and pale green Jadeite coffee mugs. No, as the owners say, it's a nostalgia shop. It has a little bit of everything collectible, and lots of certain things—like vintage postcards, hundreds of LP records, tons of GI Joe,

Ninja Turtles, and Johnny West action figures, and some oddities that you won't see anywhere else. Old tin toys from the 30's and 40's sit cheek to jowl with blow-mold Santas and framed movie posters. Everywhere you look there is a vintage compact or cigarette lighter, next to a camera from the 50's, or a rusting gasoline or beer sign. There are pretty things and ugly things, tobacco tins from the 1930's next to African masks, nested against old apothecary bottles. There are photographs from the 1920's and video games from the 80's. Whatever you played with or dearly loved in your childhood, regardless of when your childhood was, you'll find there—three floors overflowing with memories.

The inventory is ever-changing because the material that comes in is on the backs, and in the trunks, and truck beds of individuals as assorted as the merchandise they bring. “Pickers” from all walks of life come through the doors and announce, “I have some old...whatever...that I thought you might be interested in.” You never know, but they seem to come in bunches the owners refer to as “Picker Palooza” days. One day there will be nothing, and the next day, twenty folks back-to-back and lined up waiting for inspection. Some of them will have bric-a-brac they picked up at a thrift store or out of an auctioned storage unit, others will have grandmother's old fur coats, and someone else will bring leather-bound first edition books from the turn of the century.

Lots of folks come in with their own toy or sports card collection they've been saving all their lives, and just this second decided to get rid of it. One day when I was in the shop, someone delivered forty pounds of vintage costume jewelry from their great-aunt's house, “We're trying to clean out her house to sell, and don't have any use for this stuff.” I saw the glint in the owner's eye! "Oh, well, I might be interested. How much were you hoping to get for it?" And so the negotiations began. This is as close to the marketplace in "Old Algiers" as you'll find in America.

If you're ever in Birmingham, and you want some place to hang out for a few hours, come on by. You don't have to buy anything. You can just look and look and remember and remember. It's a happy place that takes you back to that happy kid that still lives in you.

Jane