As hard as it can be to believe at times I really do like helping people. Some people. Sometimes. With some things. OK - I like helping people when it suits me. That sums it up better.
One thing I really like doing is finding things for people. I shop in all kinds of odd places and when people need and/or want unusual or hard to find items it's really fun to be able to either tell them where it is or pick it up for them, depending on the situation.
I worked out at the local renaissance faire for 12 years. For 3 of those years I was the camp cook for the military guilde. That was hard work but also lots of fun. I accumulated a really interesting collection of vintage and odd cooking items. When I stopped I gave a lot of them to the person running the faire's 'food kitchen' for the performers but I kept a few of my favorite things. At the time he asked me to stay on the lookout for more of the items.
He left a couple of years later. I don't know who is running it now so there's no reason for me to look for the stuff any more. But I'll see a bowl or a set of mugs at a thrift store or a yard sale and still think to myself that they would be perfect for them. It's hard to let go of the situation.
What brings this up is that there's going to be a new camp cook for the military guilde this year and he's someone I know slightly. I know him more through friends than directly but that's nothing new. And he did suggest that we get in contact about cooking and sewing, since he does that too. I've sent him a couple of general "Hey, let's chat" e-mails but haven't gotten any replies. If I don't hear back by the end of the month (I just sent the second one a week or so ago) then I'll take the answer as implied. I can deal with that.
Back to what brought this up. I was driving home for lunch yesterday and one of the houses on the route seems to be doing a lot of spring cleaning. In the pile on the curb was a great woven basket - a nice big one in good shape. I used to use those for storing my cooking supplies when I was still doing that. Had I been in contact with the new camp cook I would have picked it up for him and let him know. If he didn't want it I could have given it to someone else or tossed it. But since I haven't heard from him one way or another I won't assume anything.
The basket is gone now so the opportunity is lost. I just used it as an example of how I can't let things go even when I really should. Even if I hadn't known about the camp cook I still would have looked at that basket and thought that it would be really useful out there and had the same thought about picking it up for .. someone.
The last of my cooking items I'll be giving to my good friends who do reenactments and love to cook. They'll use them happily and I'll know they're being appreciated. There's a couple of things that have special meaning and I'll keep those for the memories but the rest of it has to go and I want it to go to the right people and not just someone who is in a certain situation.
And I know that for pretty much as long as I have my memories I'll see a mug at a sale and think that someone could use it. Is this a bad thing?
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