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Column for January 2005:


I hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas.
Now that we are plowing headlong into year 2005, I hope that you are ready. I’ve had my mouse on the pulse of the Internet for some time now, checking to see what maybe lies ahead for the New Year. The overwhelming signal, the predominant message – has been one of optimism.
That has not been the message of the past few years. Of late, it’s been mostly fear and apprehension.But this year though, people are expecting changes – for the good. I believe that America is on the road to recovery - financially; our standing in the world community is going to improve; technological advances will flourish; and people who have been waiting for "their turn" with prosperity – will get it.Will you join me in prayer this month that all of these things will come to fruition?
Have you heard of "Freecycle"?
No, it is does not have anything to do with bicycles – well wait a minute, I reckon it could. Now that I’ve got you thoroughly confused though I’ll try to straighten things out.
Isn’t that nice of me?
Freecycle is a concept and an endeavor much like recycling is and has become. Instead of a selected group of used items being broken-down and remanufactured as in recycling; Freecycling is a system whereby used and unwanted items are freely given away to others who can still find a use for them. This concept is sorta’ based on the old saying "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure."
Since arriving here in Florida, I’ve joined a couple of local Freecycle groups and I’ve observed some pretty interesting "stuff" change hands. Just recently, I managed to get my hands on a Brita water pitcher (it filters out impurities). The pitcher normally retails for around $25, so picking one up for free that was in almost brand new condition, well – that just couldn’t be beat. The best place on the Web to learn more about Freecycle is:
www.freecycle.org .
At that Web site you will learn that over 1900 cities are participating in the Freecycle movement, and that over 700,000 folks are happily giving away, and receiving everything from furniture, to automobiles, to fish tanks, to puppies. At the Freecycle.org site you will also be able to locate groups that are in your area. A quick perusal indicated that a group has been established for Clovis-Portales-Cannon, and it has about 90 members. Now, since Clovis is situated near Amarillo and Lubbock, and eastern New Mexico folks visit those two cities often, it might just pay to join the groups from those locations also. Both the Amarillo and Lubbock groups each showed over 200 members. It is best to only join groups that are within driving distance since the folks receiving an item are responsible for picking those items up. You won’t see very many cases where the folks giving things away coordinate or pay for the transport of an item freely given – that just wouldn’t be right would it?
The more folks that participate in a given group, the better the variety of items offered.
Most of the Freecycle groups that I have encountered utilize "Yahoo Groups" to disseminate information about the availability and desirability of items. Desirability as in one is allowed to post a message stating a need for a particular item also. It does not cost anything to join a Freecycle group and it only takes a few minutes of your time to sign up. While signing up one can choose to receive all new message postings to the group by way of e-mail, either individually or grouped together each day. I prefer the "digest" version (grouped) that way I’m not constantly receiving new e-mail messages all day and night. Now, for some folks who have plenty of time on their hands and they don’t want to miss out on a really great offer, receiving e-mails individually is probably the best solution for them.
All of the Freecycle groups very clearly indicate that no items for sale, trade, or barter are to be posted with the group.
It’s all about being free man, all about being free.
Happy New Year.