We reflected on past dives in that very dumpster - the functioning CD player, nutritional supplements, photo department discards with scandalous pictures of former high school classmates. We explained our positions as “freelance excess reduction engineers engaging in the reallocation of surplus.” He told us to get a job. Until the manager flew out the back door, shaking his fist, demanding to know why we were in the dumpster. What does a vegan do with fifty packages of Chips Ahoy anyway? And why did Walgreens throw them all away? We began to think maybe they were on our side. Ironic that as perceived “struggling” and “starving” kids, we maybe gave away more than we ate. we ate what they threw away, whatever we could fit in a basket and walk out with.
#Twice treasured thrift bozeman manual#
And even though we never completed The Complete Manual for Urban Survival, made the front page, aired the dumpster diving public access show, stole every “No Skateboarding” sign, or patched things up with the bread delivery guy from whose truck we stole fresh bagels every morning, well then we were content knowing it was possible. When everything was possible, but there wasn’t enough time for everything. Notebooks of conspiracies, crimes, schemes, and maps to abandoned buildings. Every day, and every plan and plot were a reaffirmation that our lives were our own. Some of us read all day, others chanted and held signs, some were full-time defendants. Everything fell into place when we decided our lives were to be lived. We dumpstered, squatted, and shoplifted our lives back. We left behind the other kids, their path - working, drinking, and being grown-up - and rejected all that made them grumpy, uncreative, and lifeless. Late night mob action advances on the thrift store donation bin, long bike rides through the industrial ghetto, shopping cart races, and competitions to see just how many times we could make the “Police Blotter” column of the local paper. When we looked at the big, crazy urban chaos and suburban sprawl, and it all began to look suspiciously close to a big playground. When we stopped going to the mall to buy things and started going to collect derelict baby strollers for the 75c refund.
When “every day is April Fools’ and every night Halloween.” When we stopped shopping inside stores and began shopping in back. Unemployment when one’s role in life shifts from passive observer to active participant. At night, after running around, plotting and scheming, our checklist items all crossed out, we paused to think - What to do tomorrow?” and the answer was always “As we please”. Then life began, and since then we remember each dumpster, abandoned house, and footchase by retail security. Being “born again” for us wasn’t finding “God,” but shedding convenience. But those years of school, work, and middle-class lethargy are a blur. We had spent uneventful periods of our lives paying rent and long practiced the dull habit of paying for things. What about how much we can steal? Doesn’t that count for anything?!Īnd poverty in pocket means richness of experience. Poverty is a mathematical equation, an expression of how much one can buy. If it was poverty it was poverty only on paper. (406) 640-2505.It was a romantic life, maybe to be looked back upon as the glory days of youth. We accept furniture donations on a case-by-case basis. During donation hours, we accept donations of clean, sellable and working items from 10AM - 2PM each day.
0 kommentar(er)
