WOMAN FINDS A 40-YEAR-OLD ITEM IN A GOODWILL STORE THAT SHE THOUGHT WAS LOST FOREVER

 

How good does it feel when you go to buy a particular thing, and end up getting something extraordinary? How does it feel to have an altogether exciting day that you had never imagined of, like winning a treasure hunt, and taking the treasure home?
How will you treat a plot-twist in your life? And how would you contain the excitement of it? Can a single day of shopping bring so many changes in someone’s life?
Know it through the story of Julie Ann, who went on a hunt at a Goodwill store one fine day, and found an enticingly precious thing altogether that would add up the missing pieces of her family’s past, and complete it. An ordinary day turned out to be extraordinary within a split of a second for this family.

The Happiness Of Surprises

Surprises bring in happiness and excitement in everyone’s lives. They make a dull day bright. It is an entirely different feeling to get something you had not expected at all. It was no different for Julie Ann. She had never thought that she would have such a miraculous day in her life when she had only gone out with the intention of shopping with her husband, which would be nothing less than a wonder for her and her family.

Bargain Counter

Julie Ann Lisi went to a Goodwill store for thrift shopping with her husband Mike, in Jupiter, Florida. “We are retired, and it is something to do,” Ms. Lisi said. Would it not be wonderful to find the most precious thing in a Goodwill store? The feeling that even Julie was unaware of, who had gone to the thrift store only with the hope to get bargain deals.

Goodwill Stores

Thrift stores are always, and much cheaper than retail stores. You can find anything at these stores, from furniture to clothes, designer products, unique gifts and much more. The stores even make you inculcate the habit of spending wisely. To make it even better, a part of what you pay at Goodwill stores goes to charity.

The Couple

Julie Ann and Mike lived in Jupiter, Florida. When on a fine weekday they went shopping in a local thrift store, they found something that left them speechless. They had not thought of finding something like that even in their dreams. Never did such a thing even cross their minds and they had forgotten that a thing like that even existed.

Goodwill Spree

Ann had always been a wise spender, and she spent each penny only on things that were actually needed and would always try to find all of those things at a thrift store only. It was like a treasure hunt for the husband and wife that they participated in, whenever they went to the thrift store. But it was only this time, that they would be the literal winners of the competition and take home the treasure.

Family

Ann and Mike had a loving family with their son, and they had shifted to Florida from Willoughby, Ohio, where they still spend a part of their year. And that is where the story will take us. A miracle awaited Ann, Mike and their son, which they all were unaware of.

Miser

It was not the first time that Ann had been to a thrift store. She was in the habit of visiting thrift stores and purchasing stuff from that place. And it was even better on the day of this event because it was Pensioner’s day, which meant she would get an extra discount on the items. But Ann did not know she would get something so rare, that would value to be more than anything.

Contributor

Ann did not only buy stuff from the goodwill stores, but she also was in the practice of donating and therefore donated a lot of items to the goodwill stores. But she did not have the slightest of an idea that she would get something this time, after donating for so many years, and that thing would be preciously priceless and valuable.

Startling Discovery

Ann was busy scanning the stuff at the store, looking through anything and everything that was there, trying to find the things needful. Her husband was busy doing the same. It was then that she saw something, and shouted in astonishment, almost losing her senses. “My eyes just happened to glance to it,” said Ann, 78. “It didn’t really register. Things were whirling in my mind.”

Anxiousness

As soon as the staff of the store heard the shriek of Ann, they ran towards her to check if she was alright. They got worried for her, and could not understand the reason behind Ann’s reaction. They could only see her gaze at the item that she had found and were confused as to what was so exciting for her.

Unpredicted Discoveries

It pleases a human so much when they find something they had not expected and is totally not thought of. You go out on a regular day for regular shopping and return home with something not imagined of, that was the kind of day Ann and Mike had, and the thrift store became the most special places for them.

Cherry On Top

For a bargain hunter like Jane, who was not just a contributor for the Goodwill stores, but also an active buyer, the Goodwill store proved out to be the luckiest place, where she found the most precious thing she could ever think of getting from any store, let alone the thrift stores.

Budget-Friendly And More

The budget-friendly or pocket-friendly nature of all the thrift stores is known to almost everybody. These stores offer you designer products that have been hardly used by people or never used at all, at very affordable rates. What else can one wish for?

Most Precious Thing

No branded showroom or designer stores could have got Ann what she got from the Goodwill store that day. It was not only valuable and precious but also arose a feeling in Ann which was inexplicable. She could not contain the excitement within her but could not even understand how to express it.

By Her Side

As Ann shrieked on seeing the discovery, it wasn’t just the staff of the store, but also her husband Mike, who got worried. He thought that she had gotten sick or had fallen down somewhere, or had hurt herself. “When I first saw my wife, she was on the verge of tears and shaking,” he said. He came running to her out of concern and was perplexed as to what could have happened.

Husband’s Reaction

As soon as Mike came, and figured out that Ann was fine, she showed him the precious thing that she had discovered. He saw it and was equally astonished, not knowing how to react either. Both of them held hands and looked at each other, and their eyes glittered brightly. Mike had recognized the specialty of the item too.

Mixed Feeling

Both Ann and Mike were happy and confused at the same time. The happiness was for the discovery that they had just made and the confusion was about all the questions that came to their minds, like how that precious thing came to the thrift store, where did it come from and what was it doing there.

Emotional

Mike and Ann got emotional after discovering the item, and were excited and perplexed at the same time. But they contained their excitement and did not make a scene in the thrift store. Both of them clearly had an emotional attachment to the discovery and were ecstatic on finding it.

Like A Phoenix

Just as a phoenix dies and is reborn through its own ashes, coming to life again, so were the memories of Ann and Mike for the discovered item. Their memories related to the discovered item had vanished years back, but they were reborn as soon as they saw the item in the Goodwill store.

The Discovery

Ann and Mike had discovered a mitt, an old and rugged one, which was familiar to them. Although it was an old mitt, it was very precious and its value was immeasurable. Ann and Mike had become the luckiest people in a fraction of second on an ordinary visit to the Goodwill store.

The Mitt

The discovery of the mitt was so special and priceless for them both because it belonged to no one else but their own son. This was the reason why it was so familiar to them and what left them perplexed. But even after the discovery, there were several questions that were unanswered regarding the mitt, which became extremely questionable.

Ecstatic

Even though there were unanswered questions, Mike and Ann were extremely excited and on top of the world to have found the mitt in a thrift store and could not stop gazing at it, smiling, remembering their son.

Sans Any Doubt

Both the parents were sure and had no doubts on their mind about the owner of the mitt. It was their son’s. They remembered each and every little detail of the mitt and the distinct feature of the mitt was the name that was penned down on the glove. “I could see the name Christopher Lisi written down it,” Ms. Lisi said. “That is when I thought it is his, but it really didn’t seem possible.”

The Son

Christopher Lisi, the son of Julie and Michael, is 52-years-old now and had lost the glove at the age of 12. He now works as a Maths teacher and a football coach at Thomas Worthington High School, south of Columbus, and left baseball after his childhood. It would be interesting to know if the mitt refreshed his interest in the game or not.

The Mitts’ Journey

One major question that arose on Jane Ann and Mike’s mind was that how did the mitt end up in the Goodwill store of Florida. The time when the mitt was owned by their son, he was a child and they all lived in Willoughby, Ohio. The mitt had traveled all the way from Ohio to Florida, but how?

Confusion

With the feeling of happiness and excitement, Mr. and Ms. Lisi were confused too. They could not figure out who could have donated the Mitt in Florida’s Goodwill store when it was originally bought by them in Ohio. How did mitt travel a journey of about 1,100 miles? Ms. Lisi had definitely not donated it.

Vastness

The Goodwill stores have a service of transporting goods from one place to another and hence making items shift in various stores. The shifting of each item is not tracked individually, so it would not be possible to figure out how the mitt ended up in the store of Florida.

Assets

Goodwill stores not only use half of the money made by purchases in donation, thus making our purchases go for a good cause, but also have items that can turn out to be real assets. You can be lucky to find a record of The Beatles, or even an original literature piece in these stores.

Got Lucky

That is exactly how Julie Ann and Michael got lucky. They did not win any Beatles record, but what they found was way more precious than any of those things. The 40-year-old mitt was no less than winning a lottery for them, and they were happier as ever.

The Photograph

Ann and Mike decided to click a picture with the special mitt and asked a staff member to do so. They made sure that the name of their son was facing the camera and was clear like a crystal. They held the mitt in their hands in such a position and clicked a picture to send it to their son, whose reaction was winsome.

The Twist

As soon as Christopher saw the picture, he was startled too. “He was thrilled, he was jumping up and down,” Ms. Lisi said. He had never expected to see the mitt again, his own favorite mitt. It was a miracle for him, and he could not believe what his parents had sent him.

Sporty Child

Christopher Lisi was an outdoorsy all through his childhood. He was an active baseball player and had an interest in other sports as well. He was usually found outdoor playing, and hardly ever indoors, in his childhood. “I was just a little kid that liked to hit the ball and run around the bases,” Christopher told WBNS TV in Columbus, Ohio.

Mitt’s Significance

The mitt was so special for the Lisi family because it was Christopher’s favorite mitt, and he considered it lucky for himself. When he last wore the glove during a 1978 championship game, when he was just twelve years old, he hit two home runs and was very happy to have performed so well in the game.

Loss

After performing pleasantly in the game, and contributing to the win of his team, Christopher got so excited, that in the excitement he must have put it down somewhere and forgot about it, and therefore lost it. “The next day, he went back to find it and it wasn’t there,” Ms. Lisi said.

Past Relevance

Since the mitt was so special to Christopher, and he had so many memories attached to it, it was indeed exceptional that his mother had found it even though it was missing for almost four decades. How often do such things happen? Very rarely indeed. The question was, how did it end up in the Goodwill store after so many years?

Lost Hopes

When Christopher had misplaced the glove, he was saddened to the core and tried searching for it all he could, but everything was in vain. “I remember being really upset,” he said. He had lost all hopes of finding the mitt ever again and was so heart-broken that he did not even tell his parents about the loss.

The Glory Of The Gloves

The prestige of gloves carried emotional importance for the family. A 70-year-old glove is showcased in the Lisis house which belongs to Michael Lisi. Likewise, Christopher had hoped to preserve his mitt too, but he had lost it then. Now that he had got it back, it was a priceless treasure that he wished to preserve for the rest of his life.

Reaction

When Christopher received the photograph of his parents holding the glove which was his favorite lucky charm, he immediately replied and told her mother, “Buy it”. He wanted it back more than anything, from the day he had lost it. And now was the golden chance to have it. But it wasn’t an easy task to purchase the glove.

Price Of A Memory

When Christopher asked his parents to buy the glove, they wanted to purchase it badly but were a little hesitant about it. They were already perplexed after suddenly finding the glove, and now had no idea about what to do next until they received the son’s message which left them bewildering.

Hesitance

Ann and Mike were both retired citizens and had no extravagant wealth to spend. Yet, they wanted to purchase the mitt, willing to pay even a high price but wondered how much it could be for. They wanted their son’s treasure to be gifted back to him, but at what cost would that be, was not known yet.

The Best Deal

When the parents asked for the price of the Mitt, they were amazed to know the price. They got back their son’s mitt after forty years for only $1.49. This doubled the excitement altogether. But Ms. Lisi said he could have paid even $149 for her son’s happiness and get him the Mitt.

Unexpected Day

So, Ann and Mike had never imagined a day as extraordinary as this one, in their ordinary day to day life. A Goodwill store can be a treasure finding the valley, and make your day an exceptional one, even remarkably memorable, just like the Lisis.

Treasure Trove

The greatest treasure in our lives is the treasure of memories. Memories make us relive and relish the beautiful experiences that life has gifted us. When we find a token related to that memory, it makes the remembrance of those special moments even better.

The Little Things

It is very unusual to imagine that a mere piece of glove could hold such a great significance in someone’s life. The minor things that we use in our day to day lives can be of major importance for the other person. Everyone, just like Christopher, cherishes something or the other that is very dear to them.

Mitt’s Destination

After traveling for forty years, now that the Mitt reached its original owner, it will be well taken care of. It was a lucky charm for Christopher, and would now be continuing to do so in his life. It had finally reached where it was meant to be.

A Souvenir

The mitt is nothing less than a miracle that came to the Lisi’s family, and it would be treated as nothing less than a souvenir. Though Mike did not give his 70-year-old glove to his son and kept it for showcasing, Christopher plans on passing on his mitt as a gift to his son, or maybe get a chance to play catch with his beloved wife, and revive his childhood all over again.

Lucky Charm

Even though lucky charms do not have a cost, and the Lisis got the mitt at a very nominal price, the value of it was immeasurable. It was the most precious thing they could ever think of finding at not just a Goodwill store, but at any store. That is the kind of place valuables hold in our lives, where they are priceless, yet most expensive.

The Miraculous Mitt

The condition of the mitt was worn out and old, with torn out and cracked camel colored leather patina. The glove was dull now, but Christopher’s name shone bright and seemed everlasting, even after traveling 1,100 miles or even more, for forty years now.

Circle Of Life

The discovery of the mitt makes a great example of the saying that goes, ‘What is meant to be will find its way’. Sue Rounds, one of the staff members of the Goodwill store, claimed that she had seen nothing like this in seven years of her career. “I’m thrilled for her,” she said. “I’m thrilled to death that it happened.”

Merrymaking

The discovery of the glove completed a full wheel of celebrations. The last time Christopher had the glove, he had been celebrating the win of his home team in the baseball game, and now when he had got it back after forty years, it was nothing less than a marvelous day of miracles for him and his family.