Free Stuff

Last summer a Stick Library appeared in Pinehurst Pocket Park in Seattle with sanded and polished sticks for dogs. The sticks were not meant to be used in the pocket park which is not an off leash area. They are offered like books at Little Free Libraries in neighborhoods everywhere. For a couple of years, humans have dabbled with stick libraries around the world but the trend was featured in national news segments this past week. As with many ideas, the first person who implements the concept is not the one to take it viral. You now need to act fast if you want to be a leader in the stick library movement. It likely will not be as popular as Little Free Libraries because a book exchange provides a more efficient mutual two way trade. A stick library is more limited to generous providers and thankful users, like water dishes left in public areas for pets. I expect users will not actually be in the business of trading their used sticks for used sticks from others. But I am actually not legally allowed to Blog about dogs because I have never owned a dog. So what do I know? I am mostly intoxicated with the idea of getting on television or in print by inventing the next free library trend. I am thinking of photo swaps. I offer old photographs that are redundant and/or feature unknown family members but which are emotionally difficult to trash. Then you trade your old photos which I and others will find easy to dump after a few moments of amusement. If this trend catches on, we can broaden the exchange to include ticket stubs, recipes, old calendars, and love letters from my wife’s ex-boyfriend.