Scrounging through other people’s junk is one of my favourite pastimes. I believe I am at heart a Gleaner in the classic sense. I once saw a great documentary called ‘The Gleaners and I’ which allowed me to find a new sense of honour in a lifestyle that to the observer is disgusting and low.
For some reason the thought of things being discarded before they have truly worn out their usefulness makes me feel a sense of sadness and loss. Have you ever seen the Australian TV series Bush Mechanics? Those guys realy know how to improvise and prolong the usefulness of stuff that would never occur to most people. Of course If the item no longer suits the needs of it’s original owner it should be given up for something that does; but why should it go into land fill when others may find another use for it?
(I may have watched too much of the Wombles as a kid!)
One of my favourite places to visit is the Tip (Dump) shop. It’s a place where people are employed to scrounge through the junk that turns up for landfill and extract anything that may still be of value. There is an area set aside at the tip where these things are sold reasonably cheaply. As far as I can see it’s a pretty good operation. People are employed and I can get stuff at a very reasonable price (sometimes) so I don’t mind paying for stuff like that. (Councils don’t like people getting in amongst the heavy machinery scrounging for them selves!)
This weekend I managed to finally get a tricycle for my daughter and a few other bike bits for myself. As I was scrounging I found something I’ve wanted for a long long time. A tandem bike; well what was left of one anyway! I had a dilemma. Sam has been giving me a hard time about all the junk I have in our shed (smaller than a walk-in robe), I’d already promised her I'd bring home nothing big until I’d repaired that chair I brought home about four months ago. I couldn’t imgagine that I could fix the tandem in anything like the time I would like, all that was salvageable was the frame, so I left it there!
I wandered around for a short time before taking my newly found trike parts (I had to cannibalise a couple of identical trikes that didn't pass muster but it was complete by the time I’d finished) to the money guy to haggle a price. I told him I’d really like the tandem and he laughed. “It’s gone” he said! Wow that was quick! It was quite a treasure but what could I do? I wished the buyer luck for his project and headed home with my stuff. I am not really regretting missing out on it though. I have learned and believe whole-heartedly that when the time is right the thing I want/desire (need?) will appear. You might think that tandem bikes don’t grow on trees and I was mad to let it go. Well so did I for a short while but realistically I don’t have the room or the time to play with it. One day I will; and maybe something will turn up then. I like that idea and guess what it works! So shut up already about the great deal I missed…! Ha… ha... ha...
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