Well I blew it. I wanted to do the 30 posts in 30 days things here at Boomer Chick, but so much has been going on the past few days, I haven't had a chance to even stop by here and give it a go. I have, however, been blogging daily since the 1st at The Writer's Life so maybe that will be my challenge this month. Or...I could go back and blog and post-date here (is that cheating?).I wanted to blog today because Morgan Mandel gave me a great idea on what to blog about being as my bronchitis-filled brain is on overload from tours just starting and the other million things I have to do on here that never get done.
Anyway, Morgan's post today is about garbage picking. I guess in the south, it's called garbage pickin'.
Now it depends on who you are, how you've been brought up, what kind of person you are today, but garbage pickin' probably isn't on anyone else's blog today but Morgan's and now mine because if one does partake in garbage pickin', they wouldn't want anyone to know it. And if they're the kind of people that would, then I'd hate to see what their house looks like.
But on Morgan's blog post today, she mainly focuses on the homeless and what they would do to keep fed, but on mine today it's what anyone would do if something was free for the taking and it was something they would love to have.
It's the perfect antidote to shop lifting.
But the crazy part about it is, and this is saying something about mankind in general, if something was on the side of the road for the taking, you would at least give it a moment's thought about taking it.
Leave a used TV on the curb with the word "FREE" attached to it and watch human behavior at its finest. Some will walk by, look, but keep on walking. I figure they're the ones who don't want to be caught in the act. But to me, they're the Johnny Come Lately's and like the saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm;" if you don't take it, someone else will.
When I read Morgan's post this morning, the first thing that came to me was when I was eight years old and living in Burbank, California. A girlfriend and I were walking home from school and we spotted boxes of toys that one of the wealthy homeowners had left out on the curb for trash pick up. Both of us looked briefly, then kept on walking. I don't know if she was thinking what I was thinking, but we were both cool about it . After all, who would want someone else's trash?
I got home and raced back to the boxes and grabbed what I wanted and fled.
This does not sound good for me to say this, but at least I had the moral decency even at eight years old not to want anyone to see me grab someone else's trash and take off with it. Even kids have pride, you know.
So, with all that said, I have a used big screen TV with a bad picture tube I'm going to put out front. Wonder how many people will walk on by and how many will actually wait until dark to come get it?
Lots of furniture is gone before garbage day. That's why people put it out on the curb early. I've been mighty tempted sometimes, but then I wonder what the neighbors would think if they saw me.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.com
http://www.morganmandel.com
Oh my, I can see that you aren't an artist living in NYC! (lol) I furnished my first apartment here with some AMAZING finds found out on the street... like a rolltop desk! Seriously, it's easier to throw things away in the city than to have to figure out how to get rid of them. There are websites devoted to letting people know when you are going to be putting something good out on the street.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband and I were first dating, he lived in a really beautiful, upscale doorman building on the Upper East Side. I would absolutely love a journey down to the trash room to see what was being tossed out by the wealthy folk living in his building. I found a brand new persian rug down there! And A PIANO!
Just had to throw that in.
Oh Deni, so nice to see you!!!! I'm heading over to your blog to find out what you've been up to!
ReplyDeleteIn our area many things will stay there until the city comes by & tells you to dispose of it at which point you have to pay someone to come haul it to the dump. The garbage trucks will not pickup furniture, appliances, etc. and I guess most people figure there is something wrong with it if you've put it out at the curb. Occasionally you'll see things like an old water heater. Kind of makes you wonder what is going through the minds of those who put it out.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I will stoop down to pick up a penny in the street.
Tee-hee! My husband and I call this sidewalk recycling. We picked up all the concrete pavers for our back patio from others' trash. Most of the stuff that ends up on the sidewalks in our area is pretty grim, but every now and then.....
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