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Monday, July 27, 2009

Good-Bye To All That

Packing brings up all kinds of conflicts. How much do I really have to have for the rest of my life? How little can I live with? What am I keeping out of affection, and what out of obligation, and what will I miss if I put it in the recycling, the garbage, or give away to a good home? One of my passions in life is cooking and over the years I've built up quite a stash of dishes, bowls, cups, glasses, gadgets, implements, appliances, and just plain junk that relates to food preparation and entertaining. Such items tend to take on a sentimental value that is not easy to explain.

I got rid of tons of this stuff when I relocated from Alabama to New Jersey in the fall of 2007. I had yard sales, sold my car to friends, gave clothes to Goodwill, pared down to the bone and still had two pods to be unloaded into an apartment half the size of my house. Then I moved again in Hoboken, to a smaller apartment, and packed every inch with cartons of clothes and kitchen stuff.

The time has come to prepare for another move. I've getting ready for the closing on a condo down on Madison Street (da ole downtown, as it's known in Hoboken). I'll miss the gentle elegance of the shabby row houses cheek by jowl with groomed brownstones, the yuppie bars on every corner neighboring with a pizza place that's been there over 40 years. Certain delis and watering holes will notice my less frequent visits. But, hell, I'll only be a few blocks away, even though in some ways it feels like another town, almost.

In getting ready (fixin' to start, we say in the South), I am again looking one by one at every object I own and deciding to discard what I'm sure I'll never miss. In one of my heavy boxes of kitchen items I came across the meat grinder pictured above. It's a nice old thing that I know I've had for at least 35 years. I never used it much and I said to myself, "When was the last time you actually used that?" I knew right away, I bought it for a recipe for parties, grinding together raw bacon and cheddar cheese to spread on bread and toast for a delicious, cholesterol-laden appetizer. And when was the last time I served such a heart-stopper to guests? I think it was 1981, when I was living in Geneva and giving a lot of greasy parties. When I had that lightning bolt I realized I'd never serve that particular dish again and kill my friends.

So I picked up the meat grinder to carry it to the curb. I couldn't see putting it in a garbage can. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but lo and behold, there was a gate sale at the building next door. I waved the meat grinder at them and the young lady sitting on her stoop said "I want that!"

She and the man with her, who was helping with the sale, argued about who would buy it. I'm not clear who prevailed but I came away with $5 for it. She's planning another sale in the future, and I'm going to put some stuff out of it--very nice, good shape, just too much for my new life. It may be next weekend. If you're in the neighborhood, you may just find something you want. And I'll be there to say hello as well. I'll post details here if and when it happens. Goodbye to the old and hello to the new!

4 comments:

Allied Storage, SoAl Branch said...

Now there's a reason to love Hoboken living over the urban sprawl you left: the instant garage sale. What a luxury to pick up something you no longer have a need for, wave it outside your front door, and have folks fight about who is most deserving of handing you cash for your crap.
Here in SoAl, I could have crowds of people clamoring at my doorstep like cats at milking time.

Unknown said...

It seems as if we have a potential buyer (or maybe 2). Each would like to be in by the end of Sept. You saw the photos of my house...FORTY YEARS......so much stuff!!! And I cleared out a lot 2 years ago, but more came back...I dunno, somebody came in & stuffed my dresser drawers while I was out.
This is an extremely stressful time and now I remember why 40 years ago I vowed never to move. Plus I got nowhere to go!!! I gotta go to Florida & then back in Oct. for Dr. visits, Nov. for Thanksgiving and Dec. for Christmas. No, I'll postpone Dr. visits to Dec. Blow off Thanksgiving and come in for 2 weeks in Dec.
I found a booklet on Hoboken for you. Lemme know when the next garage sale is.

Hoboken Kid said...

I've been looking at da meat grinder for days, going nuts wishing I had it, only cranked 59 times if that. It's like brand new. ML, you got ripped off. FIVE BUCKS???? What I would have done with it was to shine it up, put it in a box with a ribbon, went to BIGGIES, asked for the owner, tell him who I was (the new kid on the block) and given it to him as a good deed of friendship. You would have gotten a kiss...and would have been eating free for a week. HOBOKEN GUYS DO THAT...we remember people who show kindness...plus he can always use a meat grinder in the store...ML, what other GEMS are you giving away?

Mary Lois said...

I'll publish here when the next gate sale will be. You guys kill me! I gotta lotta stuff you need...should I give it away instead?