A coworker once told me he would never own a pair of sunglasses that cost less than $100. I, on the other hand, don’t know that I have ever paid more than five bucks for a pair. I’m sure $100 sunglasses are very nice; unfortunately for me, I tend to leave them behind in restaurants, or sit on them, or drop them, or break them. I once had a pair literally fly off the top of my head while riding a motorcycle. I could never handle the responsibility of keeping up with a $100 pair of sunglasses.

I own lots of sunglasses, most of which came from Dollar Tree or the flea market, but my favorite style of shades are those party glasses from the 80s which are not only durable but also quite satisfying to chew on. I own so many pairs of these in different colors that I can match them with my outfits.

The only problem with these sunglasses is that I don’t find them for sale in stores very often anymore. In fact, I had just about given up on them last summer when I was thumbing through an Oriental Trading catalog. Oriental Trading is a company that sells party supplies, and in the middle of their catalog I discovered that they sell these exact sunglasses for about a buck a pair, as long as you order them in bulk.

So, I ordered two dozen.

The sunglasses arrived a week or so later, and there was no rhyme or reason to which colors I got. There were two yellow pairs, three orange pairs, one purple pair, and several other colors to choose from. I pulled the ones I wanted from the box and then placed the rest on the kitchen counter next to a sign that read “FREE SUNGLASSES”. Susan took a pair and Morgan took a pair or two and that still left at least a dozen.

The rest of the sunglasses sat in a bag for several months until Halloween rolled around, at which point I tossed them into the bowl of candy and treats for visiting trick-or-treaters to pick from. The sunglasses were super popular, and were the first thing to disappear from the bowl. Finally, all the kids in the neighborhood could be as cool as me!

In my desk drawer I have at least a dozen different pairs of sunglasses, all different colors. I should be covered for years to come!