Saturday, May 30, 2009

Dump Ducks







My son turned one earlier this month and to celebrate the occasion, my parents and my in-laws came to Healdsburg. Not surprisingly, all the guests and festivities generated more recycling than my bin could hold. I decided to take a load  to the dump and asked my father to ride along. On the way, my father received a phone call from a decoy friend of his in New Jersey. They exchanged pleasantries, and my father facetiously announced that he was on the way to the dump to look for decoys. "The dump in New Gretna?" was his friend's inquiry (New Gretna being my fathers local dump in new jersey). "No," my father said, "We are heading to the dump in Sonoma County." "Oh, there aren't any decoys there," came the friend's reply, fully appreciating my father's jest. "Perhaps not," dad said. They finished their conversation just as we pulled into the opening gate. As we headed down to the recycling station, we passed an area of the dump where items are salvaged and resold. We haphazardly scanned through the random offerings as we drove by. Then at the same time, we both came out of our seats. Incredibly, casually thrown on a table, was an old army duffle bag filled with a gaggle of geese...their little heads sticking out of the zipper. "Decoys!" we exclaimed. Pulling up to the table, we found several paper mache goose bodies with metal stakes, as well as some very rough Mallard decoys. We bought the best of the geese for 5 dollars and bought the Mallards for the same amount. We could not believe it! It did not matter to us that the decoys were junk; it was the fact that they were there, beyond all expectations, just waiting for us. Dad's little joke had turned into a full blown decoy tale. We took our booty home and proudly displayed the geese and mallards in my side yard. We brought the "prize" decoy into the house to be placed on the mantle to serve as an impetus for conversation and a reminder that surprises can lurk around every corner - all you have to do is keep your eyes and mind open to them! 

2 comments:

  1. I've heard that your father has a nose for the hunt. Having heard some of the OLD tales I would have to rate this NEW adventure right up there with the best of them. - Nancee Jo, Toms River, NJ

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  2. I agree, I love a good dump story.

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