Flea markets, thrift shops are Season for Caring recipient Sue Smith's greatest joys
Sue Smith loves to visit thrift shops.
Profoundly hard of hearing since birth, she finds it difficult to communicate in most circumstances. Late in life, she is learning American Sign Language, but that tool requires someone conversant in ASL to help.
Thrift shopping is something Smith, who was nominated for the 2023 Statesman Season for Caring program by Family Eldercare, can do almost completely on her own.
That’s how she finds her clothes as well as the decor for a somewhat bare apartment near St. Edward’s University.
Season for Caring, in its 25th year, meets the needs of the featured families first but then helps hundreds of others through the nonprofit organizations that nominated those families.
Read more: Sue Smith navigates life between the hearing and deaf worlds | Season for Caring 2023
From an early age, Sue Smith collected inexpensive dolls.
“I’ve been collecting since the 1980s,” Smith, 71, says. “I have more than 500.”
You can’t see them at her apartment because her complex became infested with pests, and anything made of fabric would be vulnerable there.
When asked about her dream outing, Smith’s eyes light up. “I’d like a trip to a flea market!” she says.
Smith, who also likes music boxes, has shopped at local Goodwill stores with Trey McKnight from Travis County Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He can translate for her, and if she buys anything on her extremely limited budget, she won’t be required to drag it home on the bus, her usual means of transportation.
Smith, whose sunny personality ameliorates her difficulty in communicating, and McKnight play a sort of joking game when they arrive at a thrift store.
McKnight: “We’ve got about an hour to spend here.”
Smith: “So you said two hours, right?"
Smith’s biggest needs are adaptive products, including new hearing aids, a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector with lights that blink, doorbell and phone signalers, a specialized alarm clock, furniture, curtains, and help with laundry, housecleaning and shopping. She would love gift cards to thrift shops as well as H-E-B.
To find out more about Smith or to give an item on her wish list, contact Family Eldercare, 512-450-0844, familyeldercare.org.
More: Statesman Season for Caring begins 25th year with $500,000 match from Sheth family
About Season for Caring
The Statesman will be sharing the stories of all 12 Season for Caring families throughout the holiday season. Find more stories and information at statesman.com/seasonforcaring. You can donate online or use the coupon on Page 2B. Now through Dec. 25, all monetary donations will be matched up to $500,000 by the Sheth family.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Season for Caring recipient Sue Smith wants a trip to a flea market
