Did you ever wonder where things come from and where they end up? Well, of course I’m not talking about something you bought in a store because we all know that item originated in China, Korea or Taiwan passed through the port of New York and ended up in Chicago!
Actually a friend of ours needed a curtain rod; Not just any curtain rod, a certain kind that might extend the length of her oversized floor to ceiling window. My husband prowled around all the obvious stores in the neighborhood and nothing was to be found. He happened to mention this when he was at the drugstore (and God only knows how you work that into a conversation) and the druggist mentioned he might have what we needed. Why would the drugstore have a curtain rod? Turns out, he owns the building and he is about to renovate the apartments upstairs and invited Peter to go upstairs and help himself.
It Looked Like This One
He wandered through a couple of units and sure enough he found a lovely rod with finials and he removed the brackets that held and triumphantly returned home with his prize. I took one look at it and said, “That won’t work”. Sorry I deflated his balloon but facts are facts and it just wouldn’t fit.
Naturally I wanted it to immediately find its way to the trash room but oh no, he thought it was good to throw out. Once again for at least the 100th time, I remind him that items put in the trash room are hardly ever really thrown away. First it has to get past the porters and the Super; If they don’t need it or know of a tenant who can use it, it gets put out on the sidewalk with the bagged trash, BUT. Things on the street in New York have a way of finding new homes for themselves long before the sanitation workers arrive. However, apparently even this potential new life wasn’t good enough for this rod. My husband wanted to give it to someone who needed it!
Naturally, if you know this household and the dynamics of our relationship, the rod hung around for a couple of weeks. Finally I said, “Enough is enough, out it goes”! That certainly sent quivers through him and so I offered an alternative; At least take it to the thrift shop and let someone who needs it, buy it.
It just so happened that he was on his way to New Jersey and so the rod, its brackets, a few books, two Beanie Babies and a stereo receiver and two speakers were sent to Habitats for Humanity in Asbury Park, NJ. So as you think about it, the rod which began one of its lives in Manhattan will probably be holding up curtains somewhere on the Jersey Shore.
And there you have the life and times of a curtain rod or a weird version of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
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