THE RECORD

July 10, 1996

BACK TO THE EGG

Suzanne Trevis

When we were kids there was a place at the far corner of the old trailer park called The Wood Dump. It was, I suppose, a precursor to what we now call the Free Store. People would take all their old bits of plywood, two-by-fours and paneling down there. You could find parts for your bike, poles for your beans, the odd appliance, and all the appropriate furnishings for that one-of-a-kind fort.

In the early days we would go scrounging for all the good bits of wood to build said fort. Scrambling across mounds of scrap lumber with Dad's hammer we pulled all the straightest nails to use later while trying not to end up with them coming through the bottom of our sneakers (which would always happen to somebody). Occasionally you'd come across a good bit of rope or a length of wire. These were always good for tying things off to trees.

Later on Dad built us a pretty decent playhouse in the backyard. He probably got tired of "losing" all those hammers. So, then our searches turned more to furnishings.

One time we found a great bench seat out of an old car and dragged it all the way home. It was just the right size for a couch. Distributor caps, while making great pencil holders, also make great centerpieces for the table. Fill them up with flowers and there you go. We found bits of carpet for the floor and blinds for the windows.

Once or twice a year the manager would come along, go through everything, then set a great big bonfire. It was great, just like Halloween. Kids would come from all over to watch that burn for the better part of the day.

Since then the concept has become "official." There's a set place for you to drop off your stuff. My kids bug me all the time, "Lets go to the Free Store." To them that's exactly what it is, the only place to shop when your six and nine. But despite the fact that we've come across some excellent deals, boxes of Barbie furniture, a baby carriage, bookshelves, to name only a few of our bargains, I think my children are missing out on some of life's big excitements.

They've never got to crawl through old wrecks of cars with a screwdriver and a wrench, pulling off all the neat looking bits, thinking all those millions of squares of broken glass look like diamonds. Finding old sunglasses in the dash and the odd change under the back seat (when you finally figure out how to move it) was like coming across buried treasure.

The closest they've ever come to scrambling through old wood piles is the sorry heap of leftovers behind the carport, usually with Mom or Dad in the background shouting, "You kids get out of there before you end up with one of those nails through your foot."

They don't dare borrow Dads tools (yet, ha, ha) and the idea of building an entire fort from scratch is probably enough to send at least one of them off to the couch to recover in front of the TV. But they are both girls (you did not hear me say that) and Dad built them a playhouse nearly four years ago, so I guess they just don't have the same incentives, either.

There is one other thing that seems to have changed. The common respect people have for others, their belongings and their way of doing things. Outside of the obvious dangers of climbing around a scrap heap (which suddenly seem much greater now that I'm a mother) there wasn't much to worry about.

In recent weeks at the Free Store I've seen days when people have dropped of bags and boxes full of old food, rusty tins, broken glass, papers, dirty diapers, huge chunks of rotting meat and worse. All of this is scattered around with good articles of clothing, appliances, books, toys and baby furniture. People can't use these things when they've been buried in "garbage" and Public Works can not be blamed for basically shoveling up the whole mess and taking it to the landfill. This, obviously, defeats everybody's purpose.

Where are your heads at? You know who you are! How can you be so ignorant and selfish as to destroy not only the goods that some people need, but a system that has the potential to greatly benefit our community?

People are able to get rid of things they no longer need in a responsible manner. Others find things they might not otherwise have been able to afford, or ways to repair things they may have had to throw away. It stops larger items from going into the landfill, which is becoming more of a problem all the time. And if nothing else provides great enjoyment for my kids, who thankfully return almost as many goods as they bring home. Its the next best thing to a swap meet, and its free.

So please, in the future think twice before being so irresponsible. If you have a beef with the way garbage is being handled, if the hours are inconvenient or you don't like the idea of user fees, come to council and put in your two cents. But don't ruin it for everyone else through spite or laziness or whatever.