This weekend was a "White Gala" dance at the studio I go to. Dancers were to wear white to celebrate the end of the season.

Alas, I had no white sports coat. I looked online, and I could buy one for about forty bucks. That's a little steep for a one night stand.

But, on a whim, I hit a local thrift store. There on the rack was a white blazer (close enough to a sports coat), and it was only fifteen bucks.

OK, more than I'd like to pay for something I may only wear once, but it looks enough like a lab-coat that I could wear it as a Hallowe'en Mad Scientist costume.

At the checkout, the clerk asked for one dollar. I was confused until she explained that all summer clothes were just $1.00 to clear them out and make room for winter clothing.

So, the fates have spoken. I have a lobster pin about the size of a standard corsage, and I must attend this dance wearing a white sports coat and a pink crustacean.

Only a few folks got the joke, but they were sufficiently mortified that it was well worth the dollar.

Truth is, I stole that joke from Jimmy Buffet. But it was still worth the effort.