Putting stuff you don’t need or want in your yard with a “Free” sign on it is a useful idea. One person’s trash is another’s treasure, right? Works best if you put it out on a Saturday morning when folks are driving around, running errands. If no one snatches it up by nightfall, put it in the shed and try again the next day.
But here’s the deal: if it’s still there by the end of Sunday, nobody is going to take it. Nobody! You tried and now you have to do the right thing. Bring it to Goodwill or the dump. Donate it to Restore. I don’t care. But for the love of God, do not leave it there for weeks on end, getting rained on, eaten by varmints, looking worse with each passing day. Trust me. Some things do not improve with age.
Not everyone’s gotten this message though. I’ll let Charlie tell you about it.
Whitey’s Couch
All summer it’s been sitting there
Moldering away
I pass it on my way to work
Each and every day
Whitey’s couch, right by the street,
His monument to grunge
For months it’s just been soaking all
The rain up like a sponge
Now, to anyone it’s clear:
The thing is waterlogged
Stop and take a look, you’ll see,
It’s soggy as a bog
Mossy crud’s begun appearing
Up between the cushions
No tadpoles, yet, but upwards
Protozoa have been pushin’
A lesson in biology’s what
Whitey’s couch provides
Who knows what critters of the wood
Now choose to live inside?
Small wonder, no one one’s picked it up
Even if it’s free
Lots of us give stuff away
But this, just let it be!
Today I saw some dog approach
The couch and take a peek
He sniffed and then he lifted up
His leg and took a leak
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Whitey’s Couch