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Photo Essay
Streetside Pick Up | Elie Gardner
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Andrea Avery, Thomas Crone, Bill Cable, Jess Dewes, Katy Fischer, Jane Godfrey, Dave Gray.
Streetside Pick Up |
by Elie Gardner
I was looking for him in all the wrong places, and then one morning he showed up on Cleveland Avenue.
I see him sitting with his family – a headboard, two shelves and a canopy contraption. I notice that he's for sale. I glance at him, but it's not love at first site. I feel bad. I want him, a la carte.
Hours later, I drive by. He's still there. This time, he sits on the curb. Odds and ends rest near him in bags – cups, bowls and a French coffee press. A sign attached to one of the bags reads, "Free stuff."
Call me conditional, but now that he's free, he looks mighty fine. The least I can do is give him a home. The headboard, two shoddy bookshelves and canopy have to stay. I don't have room for them, but I believe that it's my civic duty to give this abandoned chap a home. I take him from his family, hoping they don't end up in some smelly landfill.
I throw him in the backseat of my car and drive away. Still getting used to my new friend, I peek back at him at the stop signs and lights and like him a little more after each glance. At my home, I leave him alone in the car, but not for long. I skip up the stairs and grab a dust rag and some cleaning supplies. I beam as I run a rag up and down his short legs. He sparkles after his dusting. The only sign of neglect he shows is an unattached handle.
Already clean, I dust him again then carry him up my stairs. I set him down in my room to see how he fits. He needs his handle back.
The first screw I try is too short, and the second, too long. But after a few minutes, I find the proper size and reattach the handle. He functions now, without the rest of his family by his side. I fill his drawer with bookmarks, batteries and other junk. I place my alarm clock and light on top of him. I pull him close to my bed so that he, my nightstand, can sleep near me.
Elie Gardner is a Missouri School of Journalism graduate and works as the online photo editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A photographer by nature, she tries to debunk ancient myths by liking words too, and even numbers.