Did you just throw on sweats and a ball cap before you hit WinCo this weekend? Then Josephine Silva, who caught our eye by the registers as shiny things do, put you to shame. She was glinting her way past the bulk bins and bread racks in a rhinestone-studded cowgirl shirt, a rhinestone-encrusted belt and enough sparkly bracelets to sink Siegfried and Roy’s yacht. You know, just to pop out and pick up some canned goods.
Why all the flash? “I’m a cancer survivor,” the soon-to-be octogenarian said, explaining her impulse to carpe diamante. In fact, this is nothing. Silva is a volunteer chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital, where you can catch her in homemade costumes for every holiday.
This article appears in Growing the Machine.
