Who doesn’t love a bargain? Since I was a kid, thrift stores have held the promise of trashy treasure. Sure, you’re not going to find “Action Comics #1,” but you could score a melodica or Pocket Trivial Pursuit. (Yep, I own both.)

If you’ve never been to Goodwill, it’s a giant, air-conditioned garage sale where everything is donated, semi-organized, and you don’t need to haggle. Here’s my five favorite finds.

Halloween Costumes

Yes, you can always get a thrift store sportscoat for a kid’s Frankenstein monster costume, but in October, most Goodwill shops open a whole Halloween section. There’s racks of new, bagged masks and hats and accessories. I’m guessing it’s stuff that Spirit Halloween donated last November instead of warehousing it all?

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I got to meet magician Mac King in the late 1990’s when I was the wacky morning reporter at WDRB-TV in Louisville, KY. Most days, I’d broadcast live from somewhere around town, but occasionally, we’d tape something for later. Mac grew up in Louisville and had come back to see family – and pay for the trip with a few shows at The Comedy Caravan. Mac borrowed a blindfold from former WDRB (and Weather Channel) meteorologist Paul Emmick and this happened.

When we got back to the station van, the newsroom radioed about a call from the police. That McDonald’s at the end of the video had been robbed a few weeks earlier and the manager called the cops about Mac and me – and the cops called the station. Of course, McDonald’s knew it was WDRB because we had branding all over the microphone and camera. It all got sorted pretty quickly – and I kept my job.

Mac is a great performer because he’s both genuinely funny and a skilled magician. When the world opens back up again, you should go see his show at Harrah’s Las Vegas. He performs at 1 and 3 pm, which is a great time to see a show in Las Vegas. You’re finally awake, but it’s too hot outside, so go see Mac. Here he is with his masterful take on a classic.

I haven’t been watching “Cobra Kai.” Is this still canon?

You won’t find “The Honeythief” on Duran Duran’s “Greatest” because it’s actually Scottish band Hipsway. Those synth stabs always make me think of The Art of Noise, but I can see how there’s bits of “A View to a Kill” or “Notorious” floating around in there.

August 10, 2021 update to the original September 2020 post – Quibi went belly-up and “Mapleworth Murders” has been MIA on streaming since October 2020. Just this week, The Roku Channel announced “Mapleworth Murders” would join the second wave of Quibi orphans to reappear on the service. I’m curious to see if Roku cuts the short episodes into more conventional sitcom-sized chunks.

I’ve lived and worked in Orlando since late 2000, so it’s always satisfying to see what performers pass through Central Florida on the way to national success. Right now, Paula Pell has a new show on Quibi and just debuted season three of “A.P. Bio” on Peacock. Before that, Paula was a “Saturday Night Live” writer from 1995 to 2013 – including two seasons as co-head writer. All that started with theme park work and commercials in Orlando.

Paula moved to Orlando as a teenager, graduating from Longwood’s Lyman High. After Seminole Community College and the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Paula came back to Orlando for acting work and was active in SAK, the same improv group that helped launch Wayne Brady, Paul Vogt (“Hairspray” on Broadway), and Aaron Shure (writer on “The Office” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”).

Paula created The Bingo Lady for both the Florida and Hoosier lottery TV commercials. Now, you’d think I could find at least one video on YouTube, but this promo pic is all I could scrounge.

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