My 11-year-old grandson called me this morning to ask if anything cool had come into the thrift store this week. A sweet and entertaining conversation followed and after we hung-up I continued thinking about what makes an item cool. Some things are cool because of the way they look or because they’re rare or unique or novel. But what I find makes things cool is their story! I love nothing more than getting a donation with a note attached to it–“wedding dress was handmade by bride’s mother in 1960”; “clock was brought back from anniversary trip to Germany in 1984”; “printer drinks more ink than a frat boy drinks beer”. Many times, donors will verbally tell us about their items–where they got them, when they got them, how much their kids enjoyed them, which family dog is responsible for the chew marks. In that way, we get to learn a little about their story too. Stuff is just stuff until you know it’s story and it becomes a part of your story….and then I get to tell my grandson that the store is FULL of cool things!