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You never know what you'll find at the Salvation Army thrift store on MacDill Avenue: a glittery, long blue dress for $9.99, a Casio electronic keyboard for $39.99, a set of classic MASH episodes on videotape for $1 each.
You'll also find recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.
LIKE OTHER Salvation Army locations, the store employs men who live at the Adult Rehabilitation Center off Nebraska Avenue in North Tampa. Some get paid a nominal wage. Others work for their room and board - and a sense of pride.
Stocking shelves, loading furniture and running the cash register are good for the soul. Keeps their mind from the demons that haunt them.
For many of the men, the center is their last hope. Without it, they'd be on the streets, in jail or, even worse, dead.
Eric Patterson knows this all too well. In 1994, he landed in the center to try to beat his cocaine and alcohol addiction. Two months later, he was kicked out for getting into an argument with another resident.
"I just wasn't ready," he said. "I needed to get in touch with my anger."
HE SPENT the next several years searching for the next high. In between, he worked the docks at the Port of Tampa, unloading banana boats. He tried to ween himself off drugs but couldn't. Instead, he spent time behind bars for drugs and domestic violence against his wife.
Two years ago, he decided enough was enough. He was "sick of going through the whole thing." His life was unbearable. Even God couldn't help him, he said, because he couldn't help himself.
After much pleading, the center finally let him come back. This time, he vowed to stay clean and focused. He'd seen too many acquaintances die or disappear in the streets.
Living at the center takes discipline. Up at 6. At work at 8. Daily chapel, AA meetings and classes. There's no personal phone calls for the first 30 days, and you can't leave the center without permission. After that, you can leave when you want but are subject to a Breathalyzer test every time you return.
Men stay for at least six months. Some have needed up to three years. Eric stayed for a year. Sept. 24 will mark his two-year anniversary of being drug-free.
Today Eric is assistant manager of the thrift store in Palma Ceia. He's still married to the same woman, Frederica, and lives a short drive away off Cypress Street.
He's the supervisor in charge of deliveries and donations. Other men going through the center call him their boss. At 41, he has lots to be thankful for. Every morning before the store opens, the employees pray together.
David Parker came to the store a few weeks ago, after working the graveyard shift at the center. Last Friday, he got his first paycheck in about a year. "It's a start," he said. "A stepping stone" to a better life.
He's been at the center for seven months. A slave to gin and tonics, he had sold all of his possessions and had just been evicted from his apartment in Brandon. Were it not for the center, he'd be living in his 1998 Dodge Intrepid.
For 10 years, he drank himself to sleep every night. Over time, booze became more of a need than a want.
David had been in and out of various detox centers, but nothing worked. He would dry out for a few days, but once out, would revert to his drunken ways. Even surgery to repair an alcohol-soaked liver didn't stop him for long.
"I rebuilt my life and lost it too many times," said David, 43. "I needed to do something."
Finding the center was it. "It's an amazing place," said the Tampa Catholic grad who most recently worked at a call center. "It can change your life."
Thanks to the Salvation Army, David says, he has been alcohol-free since November. He aspires to go back to college to become an X-ray technician. He plans to leave the center in about three months, after he saves enough money for an apartment. Maybe he'll move to a halfway house in South Florida.
Either way, he intends to settle in Tampa, his roots. He never wants to forget the people who haul in their donations and shop at the store just because they know someone out there benefits.
Think about David and Eric the next time you need an extra baby stroller or have one to give. They're grateful for the help - and need it.
THE LAST DROP: The Stanley Cup is certainly living up to its reputation. Since the Lightning's big win, the cup has been making the rounds in Tampa, hitting Bern's, MacDill Air Force Base, Marriott Waterside, Bahasa Lounge, the Red Dog and Fleming's steakhouse. If only it would find its way to my house. I'd love a photo of one of my cute cats sitting in the cup.
- Susan Thurston can be reached at 226-3394 or thurston@sptimes.com