Hard Rubbish

 Hard Rubbish

Not a stunner but I thought I'd begin this photo blog with something poignant. This is my most recent hard rubbish stack. The next day, a council truck would come by by arrangement, and load this up for disposal. Some things I was kind of glad to see go. The futon was how I slept for twenty-seven years. Even if I'd been made of ether it would have been headed for landfill. The kind of memories you'd expect were in that roll. The old red chair was beyond my skills to revive but the upholstery was fine and it had been comfortable once. The red thing behind the futon was a cabinet I repainted that I found in a lumber room out the back and served for decades as my bathroom cabinet until it couldn't stand on four legs anymore. But what caused the most pangs was the old PA system. It's a Laney. They also makes amps. I used it for various acts I was part of in both rehearsals and gigs. It was really good. There was no easy way to sell it and I didn't know anyone to give it to. I just hope someone who handled it saw its potential. You might just recognise the shape behind it as a cat carrier. That was for Brass, my ginger and white monster who did not like getting into it (but inadvertently taught me how to load him in gently) and it was where he rode the tram with me on the last day of his life when the last of his wild energy left him and I walked back with it empty after one of the most devastating decisions of my life. My current cat Nox fits easier into the smaller one (that I found on someone else's hard rubbish) and this, which was rusty and cracking while Brass was still alive, bears only sadness for me. There is a long tradition of hard rubbish piles in Melbourne and anyone who wants something is welcome to take it before the truck comes by. I was saddened to see the next morning, only about half an hour before it was picked up, that nothing at all had gone. I really hope someone took that P.A.