What was once a good idea is now laughable and sometimes pathetic. Years ago, years and years ago, in SF, when you had something of value that you no longer needed, you would put it on the street. Often it was gone in minutes. Chairs, tables, sofas, bookcases, TVs, stereos, posters. Not so much kitchen stuff or clothes or tools. But it was a nice way to pass on possessions that still had life, just a life that you no longer wanted to be part of.
When I moved from Inverness in 2010, I did the same thing. Not that Inverness is a city like SF (god forbid!) but there are still people there that appreciate good castoffs. A printer, a small funky table (it had to be pretty funky for me to give a funky table away because I like funky tables) and a lamp and a mirror. Those are the main things I remember putting at the end of the driveway with a "FREE" sign. They went out one by one and they were taken one by one, quickly. I wanted to see who stopped, backed up and furtively dashed out of their car and grabbed the item, put it in the car and drove quickly away. Come on, it's Inverness, the land of "oh, we don't need more possessions" and yet, they did!
But this concept has devolved into something tawdry. We have all seen it: a bunch of really bad stuff sitting sadly on the side of the road with a "FREE" sign. Broken toys, bent window frames, warped particle board desks, televisions that are too heavy to lift and too old to want. The owners would be better off putting a sign on these things that reads "Dump run? Please help!" Because most of the stuff is dump material. Who would want a picture frame with just three sides? Or a table with three legs? A bed headboard that looks like it has knife slashes through it? "Oh, yes, honey, let's stop and pick that up because Junior likes things that look..... distressed? Evil? Mean?"
Most of us have had yard sales and in the end we are sort of embarrassed about the detritus of our lives that we want to make money from. (bad sentence structure there) Sometimes, yes, there is a good piece of furniture, or some good dishes. The last yard sale I had, in Inverness, my neighbor came over and snatched up a very expensive suitcase (without wheels) and paid the price I was asking without blinking an eye. She knew it was worth it. In my momentary greed, of course, I thought "Damn, I should have charged more" but that thought was immediately replaced by "fifty bucks, excellent, and we're both happy!"
But I digress.
Whatever. Those piles of junk by the side of the road with the "FREE" sign on them? It's a sign of the times. I just hope the owners make a buck and then clear it all away, so there is space for the next person to parlay their junk into a buck.
Hope you have had a good Memorial Day holiday weekend. Remember something memorable.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment