damien saw this at the salvation army in seattle.
says damien, “the kicker on this one isn’t as much what’s said as what ISN’T said. this note clearly had a lot more to it that was — probably by a clearer head — snipped off.
EMAIL THIS POST TO A PAL!
98 responses so far ↓
#1 Mrs. Bender
Wow, talk about ungrateful! I was going to shut down and go to bed, but I just had to be the first person to comment! I’m soooo cool!
See you tomorrow everyone!
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:55 am rating: 0
#2 Mrs. Bender
One more thing - Kerry, your titling of the notes is just a work of art in itself!!
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:56 am rating: 0
#3 becstar
I love the work of the Salvation Army, but have found them ungrateful in the past too. I get that people sometimes donate what is essentially rubbish - I would never do that. I offered them two chests of drawers, they came to collect them and then said “nah, these aren’t good enough”. They’d been in my bedroom, I was only getting rid of them because I was moving overseas. Guess my standards are lower than those of people needing charity? I now donate elsewhere.
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:50 am rating: 0
#4 becstar
BTW, am highly aware there is not much amusing about my prior comment - guess I’m still mortally offended about being judged so harshly by a charity!
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:55 am rating: 0
#5 tweedle
Hi, becstar,
Shouldn’t charities get to have boundaries too? I mean, I’d bet their rejection of your dressers was strictly business. No room/too many dressers..
Even an army of (self-appointed) saviors gotta keep their foxholes & barracks serviceable. Y’know?
Aug 24, 2007 at 3:12 am rating: 0
#6 Nattie
nice parcel tape.
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:29 am rating: 0
#7 Garden Greenfinch
When my dad died, I was 7, my mother and I took some of his clothes to the convent soup kitchen. We got there at about 11am and rang the door bell only to be greeted by an angry nun yelling that lunch isn’t served until 1pm! My mum explained that she was just bringing clothes, it was mid November and quite a cold, wet London winter. The nun snatched the bag of clothes and slammed the door in our faces without even a thankyou! That was nearly 14 years ago, I wonder if that nun remembers us as clearly as I remember her
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:51 am rating: 0
#8 super_fan#99
As I’ve said before, I have four kids. You can only imagine the amount of clothes they outgrow every year. We keep alot of them because they will be the right sizes in the right season for the younger kids to wear but the rest we donate. I try to split it up between the different places where I live. I am constantly running into workers with sour attitudes. Most of these people are volunteers, so no pay of course, but hey, don’t volunteer if you don’t wanna do the work. I feel like they don’t want to take my stuff because they don’t want to put it away. Sometimes they get very picky about where in the store they want me to leave the clothes too, and they yell at me like I’m some kind of idiot. “THEY DON’T GO THERE!!!” lol.
It just cracks me up when they lose sight of the big picture, which is getting the donations in the first place.
BTW, what is up with the period at the end of the sentence. It’s like right in the middle of the letter O.
Aug 24, 2007 at 8:04 am rating: 0
#9 Fraulein N
I really want to see the rest of that note. The fact that some of it is missing begs the question: “Donations of WHAT?” I just imagine some guy coming in and leaving donations of, like, pee and stuff. And then the Salvation Army people are all, “Sir, we have asked you and asked not to leave … uh, donations. So stop.”
Clearly I have let my imagination run away with me, but my brain just wants to fill in the rest of that sign.
Aug 24, 2007 at 8:43 am rating: +3
#10 Heather
I’m wondering whether they ask people not to leave donations because of the objects being given (”I’m sorry, we can’t accept old food”) or because of the person who’s donating “Oh great, it’s crazy Joe with some more National Geographics from the ’70s.”)
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:02 am rating: +1
#11 mandi
it looks like a speech bubble.
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:17 am rating: +1
#12 georgie
it’s on a freezer so we’re clearly talking about sperm donations here, people.
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:19 am rating: 0
#13 super_fan#99
The period at the end of the sentence makes me think that this was all there was to that note. See how it kind of rises up with the slant of the paper. I bet this was pre-cut and all that was available for the mad-noter.
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:21 am rating: 0
#14 Goldie
I’m not even going to try for a witty comment because I cannot top #12 anyway.
I kind of agree that it’s not a good idea to donate junk. I worked at our church flea market last year, in the toy section, and you would not believe the stuff people bring in… several dozen boxes of used paints alone! And I mean heavily used, like half the paints missing and the rest all the same color, complete with a dirty brush… C’mon people, I will buy you a new box of paints so go ahead and trash your used ones when you can, okeydokey?? don’t try to donate them, nobody wants that crap, what’s next, used diapers? Even so, I’d never say anything to anyone because it sounds ungrateful as heck and because it might scare them out of donating altogether.
That said, the note sounds too cryptic for us to ever figure out. I would just donate elsewhere to be on the safe side.
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:45 am rating: 0
#15 T-Bone
You think any would-be donators even noticed this note due to its dinky size and its placement on the side of one freezer? Maybe it would have been better to make a poster-sized sign and tape it next to the donation ramp? Or just have one of the volunteer workers wear a sandwich board and stand outside with a megaphone: “DON’T LEAVE DONATIONS WHEN WE ASK YOU NOT TO!!! I REPEAT: NO DONATIONS UNLESS WE ASK!!!”
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:45 am rating: 0
#16 lauralaiwc
i know alot of these places get a billion stuffed animals, junk furniture, stained clothes, etc…and sometimes these things HAVE to be cleaned (alot of locations require furniture and stuffed animals to be sanitized before they can be sold…think about 3 year olds using good old elmo to wipe their nose/butts/armpits…), which in the long run, costs them money, too.
but i agree with everyone saying a charity should at least be thankful for the though of someone GIVING them something, especially when alot of said charities sell items for a profit (goodwill). even if they have to reject the merchandise, at least do it with tact.
but this note has me curious too, but since i can never know, im just not going to think about it, before my curiosity bests me!
Aug 24, 2007 at 10:43 am rating: 0
#17 bethany
Every time I donate at goodwill the workers are incredibly helpful and courteous. I can imagine they are frustated with a few pack rats who are “donating” their trash.
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:13 am rating: 0
#18 e
Since we’re on the topic of cranky volunteers, know that a lot of them are not “volunteering” so much as doing community service, for probation and what not. So a lot of time when you get a cranky donation taker, know that they are not trying to be better people but are trying to fulfill their debt to society.
just my two cents…
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:18 am rating: +2
#19 mattiff
maybe the freezer was the donation? in which case i can understand why it wasn’t wanted. particularly if it doesn’t work. those things are a pain in the ass to get rid of.
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:21 am rating: 0
#20 Sandy
The reason they are so damn picky is because they still try to charch $200, $300 or more for their CRAP. The last time I went to the Salvation Army to look for a chest of drawers they were old 80s styles that were priced about the same as brand new ones. They are a rip off so I just post on Freecycle now when I have something to give away or need.
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:41 am rating: 0
#21 will
We should hold a competition to see who can write the rest of this note in the most passive aggressive way possible.
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:41 am rating: 0
#22 Meowpossum
The Goodwill here has problems with people treating their parking lot as a dump, stopping by when the donation center is closed and just leaving all kinds of broken appliances and bags of junk sitting outside the building. The charity then has to pay to dispose of this crap.
I’d bet a donut that this note-bedecked freezer is sitting outside the loading dock or something where the “Do not leave donations when there is no one here to receive them” sign has been blatantly ignored for months.
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:56 am rating: 0
#23 Elmoosh
They cut off the part of the note that says the donations they DO want go in the copy room.
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:03 pm rating: 0
#24 Ceryniti
In response to number21,
“We appreciate the food and your good intentions, but our fridge should be cleaned before new and good food goes in it.
Thank you.”
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:03 pm rating: 0
#25 Craniac
Nah, the freezer isn’t sitting outside. See the fluorescent light fixture above it? It’s inside somewhere, though it could be in a warehouse that opens onto a loading dock, I suppose … we just can’t know. That’s the intriguing thing about this note. There’s so much more we’d like to know, but never will. And will people who think “a lot” is written “alot” (with no space) please educate themselves? (Just thought I’d be bitchy, since we have nothing else to do.)
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:14 pm rating: 0
#26 will
In the spirit of PA Notes here is how I imagine the rest of this note read:
“We would appreciate it if you also could try not to eat food that does not belong to you, taken from this donated fridge. ALSO DO NOT EAT MY OUTBACK BREAD AND REMEMBER TO PUT SOME FUCKING WATER BOTTLES IN THE FRIDGE.”
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:20 pm rating: 0
#27 hannah
I think #19 is right. At the drop center where I used to live they had signs saying they don’t accept mattresses, but people were always dumping their old mattresses after hours. Charities should be grateful for donations but some people do treat them like a dump.
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:21 pm rating: 0
#28 Mrs. Bender
I don’t understand why people would drop mattresses like that when there is a sign saying not to, that’s what the Craigslist “Free” section is for! And then the people who want the stuff have to come to you and lug it away!
Aug 24, 2007 at 12:27 pm rating: 0
#29 Erin
superfan99: “I feel like they don’t want to take my stuff because they don’t want to put it away.”
Probably very true. A friend of mine was assigned community service for his DUI charge at a Goodwill. Not exactly setting up for good customer service.
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:06 pm rating: 0
#30 joobs
The writing kind of reminds me of Anthony Grosso/(thank you)Terry’s. Not exactly the same, but it has that oogie crazy-old-man look to it.
*sigh* Will we ever know more about THAT story?
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:11 pm rating: 0
#31 GVI
now i don’t want to jinx anything, but have you guys noticed that a certain someone is missing??
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:22 pm rating: 0
#32 Mrs. Bender
joobs, we need to do more followup on the Does also! Like, what are they up to now? Did they ever have a baby Doe? Also, how is Pat doing with her art? Did Rene ever get the patch or the gum? …There is so much we don’t know about this, I think we should contact Robert Stack and get him to do a special episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” just for us!!
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:22 pm rating: 0
#33 Mrs. Bender
GVI - I’m thinking that missing is the wrong word here - it implies that the person is “missed”! I think “absent” might be a better one, you think?
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:25 pm rating: 0
#34 Jen
Mrs Bender - your observations are delightful
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:31 pm rating: 0
#35 Mrs. Bender
Something just dawned on me as I read this note again - can we leave donations if they DON’T ask us not to? Or do we have to wait until a donation is solicited before we can leave one?
Aug 24, 2007 at 1:51 pm rating: 0
#36 mere
i wonder if terry tried to donate, just so that (s)he’d be thanked.
thanks terry, but stop donating already.
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:16 pm rating: 0
#37 joobs
#25 Craniac–Are you insinuating that we are bitchy here?
You know, when I see a sign that says “no mattresses,” it makes me want to run right home and get my mattress and dump it there. And today’s note just makes me have the urge to drive to Seattle and leave a little grocery sack of used and dirty little McDonald’s toys, old mayonnaise jars, and 1 shoe.
Mrs. Bender! There is an opera called “The Ballad of Baby Doe.” Someone actually wrote an opera about Baby Doe.
(If any one is into that sort of thing, google Beverly Sills’ performance of “The Willow Song” from that opera. R.I.P., golden voice.)
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:54 pm rating: 0
#38 Nanna
The person who is ABSENT is in the copy room. Actually, the absent person’s name sounds like they are 19 years old, drunk and trying to make an introduction.
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:55 pm rating: 0
#39 Nanna
I live close to Seattle. I could make a donation of all my fiance’s holey socks. And make him wear them first.
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:56 pm rating: 0
#40 Anon 2
I used to work for a charity organization that would go out and pick up donations — understanding what people try to donate, I don’t find the note all that surprising.
I got crap from people trying to donate torn up couches that smelled like cat urine; broken down washing machines; TV Cabinets that no longer worked; and smashed up sheets of plaster(!). We couldn’t take any of these and the people could just not understand.
As has been mentioned earlier, a lot of people have a habit of using charities as a dumping ground for garbage and can’t seem to understand that the charity has to pay to haul away useless junk.
Also, people, please do not donate your hide-a-bed from the 70s. I sometimes wonder how I survived my stint at the charity without suffering a hernia from lifting these sunsobitches.
Aug 24, 2007 at 3:25 pm rating: 0
#41 claw71
I think the rest of the note said: unless it’s ass, gas or grass. Noboyd rides for free.
Aug 24, 2007 at 3:31 pm rating: 0
#42 tweedle
Them boyds is always lookin’ for a free ride.
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:21 pm rating: 0
#43 Holy Cats!
I work for a charity thrift store and we do not accept items that cannot reasonably be resold. The function of the thrift store is to raise funds for the charity, so accepting stuff we would then have to pay to throw away seems kind of silly. People get super huffy about this, I’m not sure why. I guess we should be grateful to get those filthy tupperwares, grimy stuffed animals and poopy underwear, that shit sells like crazy.
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:26 pm rating: 0
#44 lauralaiwc
its because people want to feel good, “oh, i donated, look at me go!!!” and the poor charity is stuck with crap.
last time i donated stuff to goodwill, they were very nice and helped me haul my bag of stuff, even though it wasnt heavy, the guy still offered to carry it for me (lol).
and as for “alot” vs ” a lot”, in technicality, a lot describes a parking lot, plot of land, movie set, the collective whole of something, a kind of person, etc, and i have had various english teachers forbid the class to use either phrase (even though “lots” is pretty generally accepted as slang for “several”). one said teacher would flunk the paper if you had the misfortune for forget that “alot” was not a word in her class.
i put in the word
“postmoderndysfunctionalsadism-ism” once (not really, something as random) and she didn’t mark it down, which i love, because i real put a non-word in and STILL passed. stupid rules, lol.
ok, back to the PA notes now.
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:39 pm rating: 0
#45 tweedle
Holy cats always chasing them holy boyds!
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:55 pm rating: 0
#46 tweedle
P.S. I’m just funnin’ with the wordplay; no disparagement of typo-makrs meant at all.
Seriously!(Not PA)
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:36 pm rating: 0
#47 joobs
lauralaiwc–I think that word describes that picture of Bubbles the Chef in the tub.
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:44 pm rating: 0
#48 Dennis
I think the excised portion simply said:
Thank You Terry
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:49 pm rating: 0
#49 Mandy
You guys are jerks. I mished her. (-;
You just TRY to stop me donating my things to your good cause! You just try it!
Oh the donating I shall do!
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:51 pm rating: 0
#50 tweedle
Oh yeah, I meant to mention, Mandy is also M*****.
Aug 24, 2007 at 5:53 pm rating: 0
#51 tweedle
One word, Darlin’: Wolf!
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:08 pm rating: 0
#52 joobs
“Oh Mandeeee,
Well, you came and you gave without takin’,
But I sent you awayeeeeeeee!”
Sorry. When I hear that name, I just hear that whiny song.
Mishee is probably off doing something selfless and good for humanity whilst we sit here drivelling. Oh, what shall we do on the weekend when there are no new notes? Woe is me!!!!
Oh, yeah. I’m going to clean my basement and drive to the thrift store.
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:08 pm rating: 0
#53 GVI
Hey joobs shhhh we don’t wanna spoilt it, just don’t bring it up anymore because we are all nice and calm. I like this note, it gets right to the point and just like everyone else i’m wondering if there is more to it that someone cut off because i would gift my left arm to see it
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:14 pm rating: 0
#54 Mishee
Hey joobs, I do things for humanity just by being here! As for the note, I don’t care for it. I need more information, I need backstory, I need another installment from Anthony Grosso!!
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:48 pm rating: 0
#55 Mandy
joobs– lucky for you you aren’t within poking distance(= I hate that song.
I want to know what makes this note-writer think that the person, who is obviously a rebel with a good cause, would give any regard to the note when they obviously ignored the previous request not to dump their shit…
I also want to know if the original request was in PAN form…
and I also want to know what the plastic thingies on the ends of my shoelaces are called. If nobody knows, I’m just going to call them Terry.
Thanks.
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:01 pm rating: 0
#56 Mandy
Oh, and Tweedle:
how DARE you try to bastardize the identity I’ve worked all of my life to create by accusing me of being a knock-off? I’ve even gone so far as to use my ACTUAL name!!
how DARE you! (you can’t see it but my finger is pointing and shaking with rage. )
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:04 pm rating: 0
#57 Liz
The rest of that note was fucking delicious.
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:08 pm rating: 0
#58 Jay
Sandy (#20)/Mrs. Bender (#28):
Good call on the Freecycle/craigslist. My wife and I use both with some regularity to donate, receive or barter for stuff that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.
My analysis: Terry did it in the study with a set of Italian chef placements.
Book ‘em, Dano.
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:15 pm rating: 0
#59 Mishee
Mandy just think of it this way, I think you are awesome and to have them think you were me, well, that just makes you even more super awesome!
Go Team Mandy & Mishee!
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:19 pm rating: 0
#60 Mandy
Well since you put it that way I’m still thinking about my Terrys.
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:33 pm rating: 0
#61 anglophile
Mandy, the end of a shoelace is called an aglet.
Thanks, Google
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:38 pm rating: 0
#62 Mandy
*strangely disappointed*
Didn’t Tom Cruise call it a Flugelbinder?
Okay, really. I’ll stop posting off topic now.
Aug 24, 2007 at 7:47 pm rating: 0
#63 Anna
I would really just love to know what prompted the note.
Aug 24, 2007 at 8:05 pm rating: 0
#64 joobs
Gees, look what I miss when I go off to work for a couple of hours.
I’m sorry, Mandy. I bet you’ve heard that song every day of your life, or whenver someone asks your name and you say “Mandy,” and then they sing it to you like you’ve never heard it before and they think they are the only one who ever thought of that.
And speaking of songs, I came up with this little verse: To the tune of “Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd:
We don’t want your ugly placemats,
Leave your mattresses at home,
No tupperware with murky liquids,
Hey! Terry! Leave my store alone!
I haven’t come up with the “All in all…” lines yet. Anyone?
Aug 24, 2007 at 8:17 pm rating: 0
#65 Mandy
All a y’all don’t leave the copy paper in the hall!
*gags over actually using the phrase all a y’all but knows it’s for the greater good*
Aug 24, 2007 at 8:24 pm rating: 0
#66 joobs