Things I Have Found While Walking

As an American who does not have a driver's license, I often find myself walking places, sometimes in the rain, sometimes while crying. Seriously, walking is great, I totally recommend it. Unless, of course, you need to get somewhere, then I suggest you find a ride.

I especially like walking through alleys because I like seeing the true side of the city, the snarls of powerlines and shoddy masonry, the haphazard do-it-yourself patios threatening to spill onto the cracked and uneven asphalt. And although I'm not a dumpster diver, I have found some pretty cool things discarded in alleyways:

A black metal-lattice shelf: now sitting in my music/art/storage room, holding up my home-brewing supplies, awaiting that day when I reinvigorate my erstwhile beer-making hobby.

An acoustic guitar: played for a day, then the neck snapped off. I put it back in the dumpster from whence it came, and someone else took it home, snapped neck and all.

A bike: an attempted gift, rescued from the dumpster, for my girlfriend (sorry ladies: this classy dude is taken!) The bike was rejected.

A television: It worked for awhile, then started emitting a high-pitched whine that, at first, I was half convinced was entirely manufactured by my psyche. Then the tube went out. Easy come, easy go.

But, so far, nothing tops the gem I discovered while walking through the alley behind my work today:



Yes, that's an elk leg. I'm not sure how I would feel about finding the rest of the elk on my walk home.