the secret shame of street furniture

ok, forget revisiting the past for now, i got something else i wanna say


i've just got back from a quick wander around the block

i didn't intend to walk round the block, but i did anyway

my sole reason for leaving the house this morning was to claim a cheap looking little three tiered unit on wheels that had been sat in a front garden on my road for the last couple of days

and herein is where the problem lies.

the poor ejected piece of furniture was about midway up the drive of the house, and in my mind i consider this something of a grey area, i know for certain that there are other people that have no qualms (for i have seen them with my own eyes) about getting stuck in to a pile of rubbish or a skip on someone else's property, but i'd be happier to make myself known to anyone that may be in the house and make my intentions clear, just incase they find that helping myself is something they didn't want happening and i end up on the receiving end of some unwelcome attention or abuse

i actually went down to the house after work on monday and knocked, yet despite there clearly being a telly on, and i could see a PC all fired up and running and what looked like a socked foot, there was no answer, perhaps the socked foot wasn't actually attached to a working leg, i am unsure, but i could see that someone was obviously home, and even tho they didn't notice someone politely knocking on their door, i was concious that they may notice someone making off with something from their front garden, so i left it

i returned this morning with the intention of having it away if there was no answer again, it seemed a safer bet that most inhabitants would either be at work or at school, making for a slightly less embarrassing getaway

but i was too late, it was already gone, and i kicked myself knowing that someone with a lesser set of morals  had probably upped and away with it without so much as a second thought, whereas i had been mulling over the idea of helping myself to it since spotting it on sunday afternoon

i also kicked myself as i already envisaged it being put to use as a slightly more practical solution for my computer that is still temporarily set up in the front room, with the monitor set atop a folding table, which then has to be removed and stuck back on the floor if anyone fancies a cup of tea with biscuits or we have guests over and bring out the cheese and wine

i also pictured the small stereo sitting rather comfortably on the bottom shelf, whilst a few light reads, magazines or perhaps my library books might look rather smart in the middle gap

alas, it was not meant to be.

so, if there is a lesson to be learnt from this, i guess i should learn to lose my fear and slight social embarrassment and act upon my impulses, or else live with the disappointment

i decided that i wouldn't walk straight back home, instead i'd take a quick wander around the block (as you already know)

and what do i discover, a home throwing out a cheap looking filing cabinet, sat in the middle of their front garden, now, i'm not entirely sure what i'd do with it, but i'm sure i could find a home for it, i'm just not sure i'd feel entirely comfortable wheeling the thing home (presuming it even had wheels)

oh well, here we go again