Just like the many once scattered across Manhattan, it was filled with hundreds of nooks and crannies filled with thousands of possibilities.
Found tonight in the Mystery Shop was a pretty pink and orange satchel stuffed with two glass canisters all for $10, a pair of much needed oxfords for $10, two ties, both silk, one a Ralph Lauren the other a Calvin Klein, $3 each, a pair of metal framed reading glasses that wouldn't break like the plastic ones for $3 and a green leather belt with real leather for $7.
Even the pet carrier for $10 was worth the risk Jupiter wouldn't fit in it (he didn't) and how, if he didn't, it could then be donated to the shelter that just moved to 2nd Street. No matter what you didn't know you needed, it was there waiting to be discovered and uncovered.
While we divided up our new belongings, neighbors came and went, saying hello to Grant the owner and asking questions about the lamp they hoped was still there or if he had any coins to sell for a collector's birthday present. I knew it was time to leave when I had to fight the impulse to buy the naked Barbies for $3 each.
Later, in the the local bar next door, the three patrons and the barkeep talked about what they had tucked away at the Mystery Shop and how they needed to get back there one day to pick up their treasures.
The Mystery Shop
1672 First Avenue
between 87th and 88th Street
212.423.9920
