My last post, about saving worms
from the sidewalk, reminded me of another habit I have that tends to gross
people out. I call myself a Picker-Upper. If I see something lying on the
ground, or generally discarded, that appears salvageable I like to go get it or
at least investigate. I don’t understand why some people find this odd. Just
because something’s on the ground doesn’t mean it’s been thrown away. It could
be accidentally dropped or even lost with the potential of finding its owner.
Although I will admit that for most random items I operate under the Finder’s
Keepers, Loser’s Weepers policy.
“It’s not like I’m picking up trash!” I exclaim to my boyfriend each time this topic
comes up.
“Well that depends on your
definition of trash”, he replies. “And mine just happens to be things that are
on the ground”.
Last winter there was something
lying in the middle of our snowy street and when I drove by I couldn’t figure
out what it was. I decided to walk down there to investigate. He went with me
although he really didn’t want to and was completely horrified when I called
out with glee “Awesome, it’s a pink shopping bag!” and snatched it up to take
it home. The next day I showed my co-workers my sweet find, expecting some
overdue praise but instead they were also disgusted. “Did you even wash that?” Yes, I did but it’s just a bag and it’s in
perfectly decent shape. It would be wasteful to throw it out. I still use the
bag often and my boyfriend always refers to it as “your trash bag”.
I honestly don’t pick up trash (I’m
really grossed out by wet paper so that’s a major deterrent anyway) but I will
pick up an envelope or something that looks like it could be relevant. Once I
found $40 cash in an unmarked envelope along a busy street, I’ve also found a
few small bills on the ground in parking lots. I don’t think of myself as a
thief. I always look around to see if someone looks like they’ve lost
something. I’ve found wallets in parking lots as well and I always turn those
in at the store. I don’t pick up really dirty things or one shoe or anything
like that. I do occasionally check discarded boxes because I’m afraid there might be
abandoned kittens inside.
I’m also a big fan of yard sales,
which probably doesn’t come as a surprise. What if the greatest thing I’ve
ever wanted is for sale in someone’s garage
for $1 and I miss it? Plus, I love books and those are always cheap at yard
sales. I also love the fact that everything has a story and now someone is
passing their things and stories on so that I can give them new ones. I know
that sounds corny but here’s a good example: I love elephants and collect
elephant things. Last summer I went to a garage sale where an elderly woman had
a few elephant knick-knacks so I bought them. She told me she has a large
collection but is trying to minimize because she’s getting older. I told her I
love and collect elephants (and even showed her my elephant tattoo) and she
went into her house and got some more and just gave them to me. She told me the
story behind each one and said she wanted someone to have them that would
appreciate them. That’s cool.
I guess I’m trying to tie that in
to justify picking up stuff from the ground and I know it’s a stretch but it all comes back to believing everything has a purpose and not wanting
to be wasteful. So the next time you see a random hat or box along the road,
you can wonder what its story is. And make sure you check for kittens.
Hey Grazola! Thanks for joining my First Loves Blogfest. The four items are all on the same day, so I suggest keeping each one short. Just post the badge and a link to my blog on the day of the blogfest and then visit others on the list. And enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI pick up random stuff too, when I notice. I usually have my head so far in the clouds that I don't notice, so I've never managed to find any cool treasures. But that doesn't mean I'll stop looking! (and sometimes I do pick up other people's trash to throw away... they're pigs!)
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'd like to say that the first cat my parents got as a couple a few months before I was born (and my first pet) was rescued from a box of abandoned kittens - so I'm all for boxes of kittens.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I was once walking my dog with my totally awesome room mate and her dog when I saw something shiny under a tree. It was winter and there was snow on the ground, but the grass under the tree was dry. The shiny thing turned out to be an iPod! I put an add in the chronicle online and on craigslist, and even tried to track down the owner on facebook using music info taken from the iPod. No luck. But in the end, I was able to give it to my wife and she used it for several months before it finally crapped out.
At any rate, picking stuff up off the street is good for business.
The end.