Bargain Priced Computers

Since my wife and I retired at the end of June this year we have been "right sizing." We moved into the first house that was really our own. For the past 40 years we were living in Salvation Army housing in about 20 different locations. I've sold off some things on Kijiji and put a few dollars in my pocket - enough for dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.
But what to do with four old computers, which I knew no one wanted? The oldest was one I purchased in 1991 at a cost of almost $2,000. The others were replacements over the years, but because of my paranoia over people stealing personal information I hung on to these and they  moved with us.
My computer savvy daughter and son-in-law convinced me that it was OK to dispose of them and that they would make sure no one was able to steal any vital information off the hard drives. So a sunny Tuesday morning last week son-in-law and I loaded my minivan with four old computers and took them to the metal recycling depot (I was wondering if I should take at least one of them to an antique shop). We passed several electronic recycling boxes along the way but my son-in-law said that he knew of a place that would give me money for the stuff. Money always sounds good.
We drove into a huge warehouse where forklifts and truck were burying long dead electronics. Actually they were dismembering them, cutting them into little pieces, and sorting them into piles of various metals. We unloaded the computers along with several monitors and an old DVD player and placed them on a weight scale. The recycling engineer (a.k.a. the junk guy) stared at his computer screen and then announced that the current value of all our thousand-dollar computers was $9.00.
I gave the money to my son-in-law for gas.
As we drove away I remembered that " a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" especially when those possessions become obsolete overnight.

You Have to Start Somewhere

Hi Everyone,
Today I created my first blog. I recently retired after more than 40 years in ministry with The Salvation Army and have begun my full time writing career. I was writing for The Salvation Army since 1968 and worked in their editorial department as a staff writer and editor for 13 years. Now I am on my own - but not really on my own because I believe that this is the door that God has opened for me.

There is an old saying that you have to start somewhere, so here I am at my home in Barrie, Ont. I have set up a study area that looks out upon a park. The changing leaves on the maple trees speak of seasons yet to be. I am looking forward to seeing what colorful things God has in store as I begin this new season of my life.