Old Things: trash or treasure?

Every spring and fall I go through my closets and decide what I keep and what I donate. Every time I find something to keep and every time there is something to pass on to others. There is a saying: one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. That saying made the new rules of Green Living possible: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. I can give away some of my old things so somebody else could reuse them and we together will reduce the content of landfills.

In spite of the saying the idea is new for America. More traditional view is that everything new and young is good, strong, energetic, enthusiastic, and brings money; and everything old is really a trash and a waste. Old things must be replaced by new ones; old surfaces must be resurfaced, old houses rebuilt, old furniture thrown out. Same is true about people: the old should just disappear, so they do not bother the gentle eye of an observer. I know, I know, written by an old person ;) But I am not as old as you think.

On the contrary, some old things never become trash, they become classic and antique. Unfortunately, this thought is not a happy one, because so many things do become garbage with age and overuse, and only a few become classic and chic if taken care properly. How many old people are thrown out of our lives? And how many of them become respected authority on a subject? Alas, even the most brilliant of us often become classic only after death. Often we take better care of the things than of the people.

Remember last year, when this old and experienced pilot landed on the Hudson River? I was thinking that he showed to the world that we are not dead yet. We are at the peak of our ability. At this age the experience is already there and the energy is still there. We are supposed to be the most valuable people at our jobs. 50 years old is not old even for Hollywood any longer. Some of us are living classics.

You, Mr. Bloomberg, just don’t know who. You are afraid to waste your money on what you think is old trash, so you are throwing out all experienced teachers when you close our schools. But remember this: you are one of us and in a couple of years you’ll become the same society trash, like you just made of me and others.

No, I am not depressed; I am at a fork on the road of my life. Which way to go?