by Darcy on January 31, 2010
We just got back from seeing Anti-Flag play at the Beachland Ballroom. After what was rather a shitty week all told, it felt so good to hear them totally rock out and experience their incredible connection to the audience. They played a fantastic show, and we were so lucky to get to see it. I just love their music, their energy, their courage. I love watching the kids respond to them. Wow. I’m in awe.
Apologies for the radio silence this week to anyone who noticed. Some stupid meaningless crap happened, and I clammed up. Now that I finally feel better again, I don’t want to dwell on it. All thanks to Anti-Flag, everything’s better now. Next time I am feeling shitty about life, I hope I will remember to put on one of their CDs and just crank it up and rock out.
If you’re in Philly or New York (and I know some of you are) or Pittsburgh or Boston or Buffalo and you like punk rock, you’re in luck, because they have shows coming up in those cities. I cannot urge you enough to see Anti-Flag while they are on this tour. Totally worth standing in line in the cold with the teeny boppers in their t-shirts (we wore coats) to see them play.
Now we’ll see how long it takes me to fall asleep. I’m so wired that I think I’ll be up for a while. It’s nice to have a reason to stay up past my usual early zonk-out time once in a while. Again I say, thank you, Anti-Flag!
by Darcy on January 25, 2010
Today I separated out the different kinds of rags we have so that they can go to their appropriate homes. We have more than we need, as is true with many things, so while sitting here thinking about how much of it all will just be gotten rid of, I decided that no, I’m not giving up that easily and just putting what we don’t need into garbage/landfill.
Taking a break from the problem, I called my friend Rachel, who thinks a lot about the same sorts of issues (living lightly on the earth, how to balance personal comfort with trying to reduce resource consumption, keeping things out of landfill, etc.) and had a nice meandering chat with her about all sorts of things, although I did include some whining about my rag overstock dilemma.
Rachel mentioned she’s been watching some of my favorite shows, the historical reality shows like Frontier House and Texas Ranch House. She also mentioned one I haven’t seen called Victorian Farm (DVD is out in the UK, will it eventually be released here in the US?), and she said that one of the characters (participants?) was talking about how she was getting things ready for a pick-up by the rag-and-bone man.
The rag-and-bone man! Where is that man?! I want him to come to my house! After Rachel and I got off the phone, I went without much hope to Google rag recycling, and lo and behold, apparently Goodwill bundles up unsellable items for a company that recycles rags. Oh, and so do Amvets and Salvation Army. Halle-freakin’-lujah!
I called our local Goodwill store to confirm before I trotted over there, and the man who answered the phone told me no, they don’t do that. Unwilling to accept defeat, I called the main office of Goodwill in Maryland, and they referred me to our regional office, who told me yes, just tell them when I drop off the bag that the items should not be processed for sale but should go directly to salvage. Ha! They do take them. Now I can let go of the guilt of putting things into landfill that can somehow be kept out of it.
I even checked with the woman who spoke to me to make sure that Goodwill gets something for the salvage. It’s not much, but it isn’t a liability. They do get paid for their salvage, not charged for having it hauled away. I didn’t want to keep something out of landfill at a cost to a charitable organization.
Today I’m feeling good about my relentless tendencies. They can be a bit of a drag in some situations, but sometimes it really pays off to have this no stone left unturned mentality. It took maybe 10 minutes and an unwillingness to accept that first no at face value. And internet access, although I’m guessing I could have accomplished the same feats using the phone book, it just would have taken a little longer.
Another small triumph, but I’ll take the small ones. They add up. And now the effects of this one can ripple out. Tell your friends! Keep worn out clothes and other fabric out of landfill by bundling them for salvage and taking them to your Goodwill. Just be sure to tell them your donation should go straight to salvage.
