A Second Life

At the start of the New Year, some people clean their house, and get rid of things they no longer need or want. That’s what I did.

I got a big blue bag, and in it, I put a couple of pairs of shoes, a couple of books, and a dish rack. I also put in a pair of grey summer shorts that were too small for me (or I was too big for them). Can you see the things in the bag?

They were in good condition, so I didn’t just throw them out. I gave them to a shop to sell. It’s the Mercy Hospice shop on Ponsonby Road in Auckland. 

Where do the things in the shop come from? People donate goods to the shop, it sells them at a good price, and the money goes to people who need special help.

The people who need help are very sick and close to death. They stay in a special hospital called a hospice, and their final days are as pain-free as possible. I remember visiting one of my teaching colleagues there when she was dying. She was a lovely woman.

I think hospices are a very good idea, not because I might need that kind of care someday, but because other people need it right now.

Anyway, as I was walking to the shop on a very hot and sunny afternoon, I stopped for a rest, and I saw this. It made me laugh.

It looks like a person sitting with crossed legs on a bench, but it’s made out of tinsel or a Christmas tree. And because it was very hot, somebody was kind enough to put a cool drink in its hand.