I was strolling down Clark St this afternoon, and I happened upon a two block stretch between Montrose and Wilson that I have fondly dubbed The Disposable District. I have never in my life seen such a high concentration of crap stores. One establishment after the next proudly displays rhinestone-studded, neon underwear that will surely transform every last item in the wash a pale, blotchy pink before disintegrating in the spin cycle. And I can only hope that the XXXXL airbrushed Tweety Bird sweatshirts disintegrate immediately after purchase, lest someone actually be tempted to wear them.
Shoes built to last for at least a quarter of a mile, pots and pans sets with specially designed fall-off handles, and porous umbrellas perfect for those rainy day strolls when you feel like gettin’ a little drenched–all these and more can be found in The Disposable District, so make haste! Your trash cans can soon be filled with piles of brand new items. Save time, and don’t even bother taking them out of the package. 1) Purchase item(s). 2) Place in trash. 3) Breathe a huge sigh of relief that America’s sacred landfills won’t follow in the doomed footsteps of our fast-fading ice caps. Whew.

I am so sorry, metworld. I have been gone for far too long! But guess what? We moved!!! It’s over! Yay, and stuff!

Now that all of that nonsense is over with, I can start enjoying my life as a Chicagoan and true blue blogger. And my new neighborhood. First things first – shopping!

Out of sheer boredom last weekend, I decided to take a stroll down Clark to familiarize myself with my surroundings. And, of course, to see who had the best sweets in town. (Swedish Bakery, duh. But that’s a whole different entry)

I walked into Brown Elephant, and I was all “I’m not gonna buy anything” and proceeded to, well, buy stuff.  I managed to talk myself out of spending all of my money, and settled on two t-shirts. A pink “Detroit Ligers” t-shirt and a green psychedelic number. (pictures coming soon – I’m not at home)

My awesome purchases aside, lets talk about Brown Elephant for a minute, shall we? The Howard Brown Health Center, through the sales at the Brown Elephant shops, has raised tons and tons of money to help under/uninsured LGBT folks receive the health care and education that they so deserve. From the site:
The mission of Howard Brown is to promote the well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons through the provision of health care and wellness programs, including clinical, educational, social service and research activities. Howard Brown designed these programs to serve gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons in a confidential, supportive, and nurturing environment. Howard Brown Health Center is committed to working cooperatively with other community-based organizations serving and contributing to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

I’m not trying to get all political here, but I am a big fan of people being educated and safe, regardless of their race/sex/sexual orientation.  I’m also a big fan of shopping for a cause, especially when the stuff is cheap.

Well done, Howard Brown.  I’ll shop to that!