Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess |
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I don't know how many of you remember the store "Value City" - there might even be a few left in the area somewhere. My cousin lovingly gave the name of "Value in the city" to those of us who find a really good deal sitting on the curb, after dark, the night before trash pick-up. Now, understand, we are NOT garbage PICKERS. NO.... Many, many times, people just don't want bothered with taking something to Good Will or trying to sell it, so they put it out on trash day, but position the item(s) five or ten feet from the rest of the bags of trash. ... honest...! For example, coffee tables, couches, strollers, weight benches, and so on - things that are still worth some money, and are still usable, but no longer needed by the family at that address. Value in the City. We have the priveledge of being out at stupid hours - usually before anyone else is stirring from their beds (Do I hear a nursery rhyme starting there?... nah..). We can find some pretty nice things, but it is against the law to pick stuff up from the curb - it's a health hazzard. I'm certain, though, if we were to knock on the door the next day, the person who set something away from the rest of the garbage would tell you that they intended for someone to pick their things up through the night. Years ago, Bob had a sub-compact Nissan pick-up truck. Little two wheel drive, six foot bed, red paper truck. One night, he picked up the metal frame for a bunk bed. It was four-inch diameter metal pipe painted red, but hung out over the tailgate of his truck. I was still married to my first husband, and our house was along Bob's paper route. When David got up for work in the morning, he called for me to step outside and take a guess at what Bob had dragged "home" the night before. We speculated many things, but a bunk bed wasn't one of them. Bob stopped later in the morning after his routes were finished and I helped him tie the framing to the bed of his truck. He said that it kept falling out on the pavement all night, he had to keep getting out and picking it up. I wonder how many people he woke up during the night, clanging down the street with contraban hanging out of the back of his truck. As time has rolled by, we find it more and more difficult to find really good items. We seem to have competition. There are folks who drive around at night looking for stuff to resell at the flea market. There's nothing more frustrating than someone picking through trash parked in front of a mailbox to where you need to deliver a paper. I guess they need to make a living, too. One night, I spied a really nice wooden toy chest for Bob's grandkids; I hit the brakes, spun around and went home to get the truck. I returned, and was just loading it into the back of my truck when one of the flea market pickers drove by, slowed down, hollered in a sarcastic tone, "Thanks a lot!!!", and squealed tires driving away. Hey, first come, first served ... early bird gets the worm, and all of that stuff. Some of the treasures that Value in the City has awarded to us include things like a brand new air compressor that my dad is still using; a nearly new push lawn mower with the instructions tied to the handle; a riding mower we guesstimated to be about a year old - we later learned that the engine block was cracked, and my good friend Jeff happened to have the exact same model with a good engine, but rusted away mower deck. By piecing the two together, he had a nearly new riding mower. We've gotten rims, many coffee and end tables, windows, doors, siding, tools, ... things you can tell folks just don't want to deal with, but feel are still in good enough condition to be re-used. Value in the City. |