Person
I used to know was fond of giving away stuff.
Nice.
I suppose.
The
basic problem with this particular situation was that he often
spoke of things in glowing terms as treasures, but when handed
off these items frequently turned out to be broken crap. (That
may sound extreme. I think you may need some examples.)
You
somehow are having a conversation and wander into the garage:
(Pointing at circular saw) “Top of the line when I bought that.
Still works great.”
“Nice.”
“You like it? Take it. It’s yours.”
“No. No, that’s ok. I’ve got one. You keep it.”
“I
want you to have it. I’m not using it. Never will use it again.
Just gathering dust and probably will start rusting soon if
someone doesn’t use it.” (Picks it up.) “Take it.”
So,
you do. And when you get home, before putting it away somewhere,
you plug it in.
Doesn’t
work.
Look
it over. Try a few things. Plug it again.
Doesn’t
work.
Check
the outlet, perhaps search the internet for troubleshooting ideas,
look it over again. Plug it in.
Then
you give up. Why? Because nothing this person has ever given you
previously ever worked. And while you want to give him the benefit
of the doubt, it’s reached a point where you sometimes feel like
you’re being used as a dumpster to clean out his garage of useless
stuff.
There’s
more to the story—necessitating a deep dive into the motivations
of our generous friend as well as a long list of assorted issues—but
there is also a flip side to the story. It involves two screwdrivers,
with price tags still on the handles. If they are accurate, his
best gift to me was a grand total of one dollar and ninety-eight
cents, plus tax. And it tends to make all the others worthwhile
for me.
The
screwdrivers in question likely wouldn’t get much of a look in
general times. One a regular flat-head and the other a Phillips
head. But they actually might earn a second look, since the shank
of each one is about 18-inches in length. And it is that feature
that makes them extraordinarily useful.
I
don’t believe I’ve used either one on a screw. Might have done.
Don’t believe I have. But I’ve dropped stuff. Inside of other
things. And a little bit of duct tape on the end of the extra-long
screwdriver gives you something that fits nicely into difficult
spaces to pick up what you dropped.
A
bit of extra reach hasn’t been the only time I’ve taken them down
and put them to use. Each time I’ve used them, it was in a funny
situation where I thought I was doomed. And each time, I’ve nodded
as they worked while noting to myself that they were a pretty
sweet gift I after all.
Funny,
sometimes, how we apply appreciation to gifts. Even the best of
us occasionally wonder why someone picked something out for us,
with eye rolls and deep sighs accompanying half-hearted words
of gratitude. The thought counting theme escapes us, for reasons
that may perhaps even be justified. Occasionally though something
comes around with unexpected rewards, and reminds us we shouldn’t
take any gesture for granted.