I have a little confession.
I like free stuff.
I know, I know, who doesn't? I mean, no one's going to turn down a free lamp from Tiffany's, right?
But the free stuff I'm talking about isn't exactly treasure. Well, not always.
Let me explain...
So I walk and run a lot to make up for all those in-front-of-the-computer-cranking-out-words hours. And on these runs and walks I come across the random house here and there where someone has put a box marked FREE!!! in their driveway.
And like a magnet in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, I'm lured right in.
Yes, some of the free (sorry, FREE!!!) stuff is absolute junk. But sometimes as I excavate through the rubble, I'm like Indiana Jones uncovering a little bit of treasure. Or at least treasure in my eyes.
Among the fabulous finds have been....
- A gorgeous set of giant tea cups (perfect for when I'm too lazy to get up for a refill)
- Flower pots (for the two dozen basil plants I've got going this year)
- Books (so many books...I also hit up all the Little Free Libraries around town during my expeditions)
- Folders and binders (so i can pretend to be organized)
- A very cute and very heavy cat paperweight (currently serving as a doorstop, but could be a perfect murder weapon...)
- DVDs (including one of my favorites...Shrek!)
- Zucchini & tomatoes (you've got to be quick to get these!)
I'm also a dab hand at the gleaning and have various "hunting grounds" around the neighborhood where in just the past month I've gathered....
- About 20 pounds of blackberries (and I've got the scratches to prove it)
- About 10 pounds of nectarines (this was a new find this year and they are DELICIOUS)
- About 6 pounds of plums...so far (they're still coming)
- A few apples for the guinea pigs to munch on.
So when my neighbors began putting stuff out for free (sorry, FREE!!!) in preparation for a big move out of the country, was I going to resist the pull? Was I going to be embarrassed about sifting through their discards?
Okay, a little, but then the FREE!!! bug bit and I was all over that stuff.
And that's when I found real treasure. (Cue the Indiana Jones theme music)
Amongst the rubble was a storage tub. That tub was piled high with CDs and books and DVDs (which is where I got that copy of Shrek...and Shrek 2).
Digging, digging, digging. Man, maybe I should have brought a fedora for all this excavating.
Then, there it was. At the bottom was, not the Ark of the Covenant, but a black, rectangular box. And on the front it said, "The Beatles." I flipped it open and may have let out a very un-Indiana-Jones squeal of joy. I then ran home before any tricksy hobbits tried to get my precious, I mean, my treasure.
What I'd found was a collection of every Beatles's album. The CDs are meant to be a near copy of the original album, including liner notes and photos, plus there's loads of extras such as mini-documentaries.
I might have swooned a little.
Then reality set in and I thought, "Oh, these things have to be all scratched up or something."
Well, cynicism be damned, every CD was in like new condition. No scratches, no dings on the (cardstock) cases, no lost liner notes. Holy snakes, Jones!
Needless to say, there's been a bit of Beatlemania going on during my working hours as I listen to all the CDs. Over and over. And over.
I might actually be singing Beatles's tunes in my sleep at this point as I dream of all the other free, (sorry, FREE!!!) treasures waiting for me.
Comments ()