Fancy

Leland "Fancy" Freemantle arrived to the warehouse wearing his casual winter fedora. "Ain't no reason to not try," he'd say to anyone who remarked upon it and told him that he'd earned his name today. He'd brought himself a sandwich and chips for lunch and a pocket full of notes written on index cards (3 notes per card, clean cut into thirds to save paper). "Let's have us some classic tracks," Fancy said into the room, moving to the boombox in the corner, picking a CD, and pressing Play. "Today starts as a "dulcet tones" day," he continued, and the voice of Nat King Cole filled the room. As he sorted the clothing donations, Fancy nodded 'yes' and shook his head 'no', moving each to their piles for further processing. The ones that were ready to hang got a second or third round of scrutiny and, carefully, he'd pick ones he felt called to him for a note in the pocket. "You've seen some life," Fancy said to a pair of flare-legged jeans that were frayed at the bottom in the back. "You gonna keep somebody movin' through." He tucked a note into the pocket that said, "See here: you don't have to worry about the other guy. You distinguish yourself with kindness, you be all right." Into a burnt orange sportcoat's inside pocket, Fancy placed, "Ain't nobody qualified to disqualify you. You got every right; every single one. Roll on." Freemantle continued to note some pockets until they were gone, then he switched the music to 70's funk, and used an impressive electric slide to reach the ice cooler housing a stockpile of Pepsi gratis.