WHATNOTS

It’s about time! I’ve opened a virtual collectibles shop with locations now on Etsy & Ebay.

About 5 years ago (maybe more), my husband Frank and I came up with the idea to should open a shop in our home, staged within my beloved, wanna-be Victorian styled, front parlor. At the time, Baltimore had just launched a new official bike route for that happened to pass right through the intersection three doors down from our home.

When they first announced the new route, we thought it to be an odd choice given that there isn’t much going on along that route. Starting downtown, riders would soon find themselves among warehouses, then onto the bowels of the JFX overpass which is essentially backs up the supermax prison amidst a stretch of no man’s land, until they’d finally be met by residential streets after passing North Avenue. Without leaving the bike path, we couldn’t think of a single place worth stopping along the way.

It wasn’t long before we observed riders day and night taking this new route. There were professional couriers, adventurous commuters (including entire families), as well as biking enthusiasts for leisure and sport. That’s what triggered our light bulb moment.

We thought, why not take advantage of the opportunities that owning a home with dual zoning provides? We laughed at our cleverness when we came up with the perfect name, The 25th Street Pedal-er, and display it in logo form on a big, brightly-colored sign that we’d hang from the roof over our porch.

We also imagined placing a sandwich board on the corner of our block. Apart from an arrow pointing riders our way, we’d list some of our offerings and wares. We’d sell anything a cyclist and their bike might need during their travels, and provide a quick all-points inspection pit stop for maintenance that Frank would conduct from our porch. There would be snacks, soft drinks, water and coffee for the casual rider. Then, power riders would surely appreciate a spot to refuel, for which we’d supply nutritious and energy-pumping protein shakes, shots and smoothies to give a quick pick up for their miles ahead.

As things go however, life got super busy for us and before we knew it the world as we knew it changed when covid-19 landed in the US in early 2020, followed by that soul crushing lockdown period we were put through. Some handled it better than others. Unfortunately, Frank wasn’t one of those people. His passing just as the new year turned in 2021 left everyone that knew him in shock, but our ability to gather, memorialize or even comfort each other over the loss was stifled and shut down.

Now here I sit, heading into 2023 and met with a need to clear out and lighten my load. That’s what brought be to start my new hobby. I mean, isn’t it about time that I had my own shop on the internet?

And as I was cleaning out the corners of this old house, I was trying to think of a name….and then it hit me! I’ll call it The 25th Street Peddler. But, then I didn’t want people to think that I was actually in business here on 25th. So, I’m calling it WHATNOTS, the 25th St Peddler, in the spirit of the shop that could have been, to the shop that this new one might become. And because I’m selling whatnots.