Free-Dumb

I'm not entirely sure why, but lately I've been seeing a lot of houses with miscellaneous stuff piled in the yard and a sign next to it with some iteration of, "Free For The Taking." While this isn't entirely unusual, I am always surprised at the number of people that are sifting through the mounds of unwanted items looking for who knows what. I appreciate the fact that before a potential treasure is carted off the the landfill it gets a second lease on life, but let's be honest, what's really going to be in this heap of trinkets that's worth value.

The way I figure, if someone is willing to just give away a treasured piece of bric-a-brac then it probably doesn't have much value. Sure, I personally have given away a stove that I could have actually sold, but it was an old and unsafe fire hazard that I didn't want to hassle with. That's kind of how I feel about these heaps of "Free Stuff."

The most intriguing part to me, however, is the people that stop and wade through the freebies. It doesn't seem to matter what the situation, as soon as someone sees a sign advertising something free, a Pavlovian response is triggered and the person stops. Going to a wedding? Don't forget to check out the give-a-ways of the college kids moving out of their rental. Big job interview? Maybe you can forget about working when you find that priceless artifact in the mountain of free rubbish on the way. Hot date tonight? Your sweetie will be overly impressed by the secondhand crap you found on the way to the fancy dinner.

In the end however, I guess it doesn't mater what the particulars are of the trash. It really does seem that one person's junk might be another person's treasure. And the fact that it's free apparently makes it just too good to pass up.