It used to be that I saw others as Dumpster Divers or Divas. For example, when I realized that the jumbo pickle jars used in nursing homes made excellent starter goldfish bowls, my friend - and chair of our church council, Lorne - would make the occasional "reach" at one of the places his wife and he visited.

But a week ago last Saturday, I found myself at the planter dumpster at the local YIG pulling out treasures. Yes, you know those hanging white ten inch baskets. Someone had tossed four of them away. Imagine! And while I was stretching for them, I saw a couple of large fibre pots. A little worn, but this was a dumpster after all.

I wish I could tell you that my gathering was limited to very large glass jars and plant pots. (By the way, my name in Arabic means "gatherer".) But it also extends to vases or anything vaselike, teacups and unique mugs. The vases are for flowers I glean from an area florist (add flowers) and the cups for wee plants from an area greenhouse (add plants).

My saving grace in all of this is that none of these treasures are meant to end with me. The flowers and vases end up at area nursing homes - for folks who don't get a lot of visitors. The cups and plants will also find homes for lonely people. Everyone benefits - surplus is made beautiful (at least in my eyes) and given to deficit.

My family wouldn't mind if my rescue efforts were limited it to inanimate objects but I also save big old house cats that end up at the Greater Sudbury Animal Shelter. No, I'm not a crazy cat lady (yet). At times I may have as many cats as some of them, but these cats are merely resting at the Steven Hilton until I find them a new home.

Oh yeah, and I do goldfish rescue too. Right now I have in my care a large white goldfish that looks more like Moby Dick, than a Carassius auratus. And like his literary counterpart, he is blind in one eye. Most of my fish are on display in the waiting room of my part time job, but MD is so "unique" he scares the clients. So he happily swims about in my office with a "troubling" of liberated feeder fish.A friend of mine, who I'm certain sorts and alphabetizes her spices on a regular basis, assures me I am not a hoarder. Messy, yes. Eccentric, yes. Disposophobic, no. One crosses the line when one's collections "cause impairment to basic living activities."

But she hasn't seen my hubby's and my used (and new) book library. One spark and the fire department would have to call in the reservists.

However, my hubby had cut his "booking" back - he's practically on the wagon. Part of this may be due to his all-encompassing hobby - running Your Scrivener Press. Four times a year we have 500 to 1500 books delivered by transport and deposited in our garage, and from there into our house, and then hopefully into stores and new long-term loving homes. Hopefully...

You have heard the phrase, "You can't take it with you!" Amen to that!

Jan Carrie Steven, MA, RSW, is Chaplain, Volunteer, Counselor and Small Business Person.



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