Craig's List & the Kindness of Strangers

I am still chuckling quietly to myself over some of the items people give away on Craig's List. If you have never looked at this, I recommend it. Over the past few days, I have been checking the "free" classification for a couch for my classroom. Today, someone posted an ad for five free frisbees, the kind you get at a trade show or public event, along with the suggestion that they would make good dog toys. Someone else was giving away free cookies and candy that they found when cleaning out their pantry, presumably in preparation for a new diet, because neither she nor her husband intended to eat them.

I did find a couch. It's red and only moderately worn, but I plan to vacuum and sanitize it, then slipcover it before school starts. The man who gave it to me was really nice - works in oil & gas, transferring to Pittsburgh because things are slowing down here in Fort Worth. He lived in a third floor apartment - I hadn't considered this possibility... Luckily, his friend (whose wife also teaches and who was also transferring to Pittsburgh) had just arrived to bring him a big box and was willing to help bring the couch down to my minivan. Since I had a red couch hanging out the back, I drove more slowly and carefully than I ever do. When I arrived at school, the building engineers measured the couch and discovered that it would not fit through the hallway door - it is one small door! I don't give up easily, so I began to look for another way and soon found it. The door at the other end of the hall leads outside and down 2 flights of stairs, hmmm... I grabbed a handtruck and as I was unloading the couch, all by myself, a gentleman walking along the street noticed and offered to lend a hand. We carried it to the bottom of the stairs and left it until my husband could come by at lunch and help me move it. Thankfully it wasn't that heavy & the door was quite near my classroom, so now I have a lovely couch in my room on which my little ones can read wonderful books and share amazing stories they have written.