Recycle

How to Recycle an iPod

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I brought my first iPod home six years ago. It is third generation, classic white, holds 4,000 songs, and predates the color screen. We have been through a lot together. It was with me on countless trips between California and Arizona, moved with me to Arizona when those trips became too much, saw Linda and I buy our first house, and our marriage. Unlike our marriage, the iPod is a little worse for wear. The battery no longer holds a charge, and after I left it outside to suffer a few days worth of Arizona summer, the wheel no longer works.

You are more likely to either hand-me-down, or lose an iPod, before throwing it away. A little uncertain exactly what I should do, I decided the old iPod would get a permanent home in the bathroom. I bought a JVC charger / speaker deck for it to sit in, loaded it with a lot of my favorite music, and there it has sat for the last two years. The bad news is that it continues to show signs of aging, including no longer syncing to my iTunes.

I have a nice new model that will reportedly hold 40,000 songs. It’s black. The wheel works. It plays video. I also have my iPhone (that really holds more music than I need). With the introduction of the iPhone, I realize that I will likely never buy another iPod. That isn’t the point though, is it. When the old iPod completely gives out, I will likely put it on my bookshelf along with my old 35mm camera, and gaze upon them from time to time, in thanks, and remembrance.

Compost Piles

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I have written before about growing up in a small town. My house sat on 25 acres about 25 miles south of Nashville. It was a great place to grown up. As a kid I sometimes wished I lived in a subdivision so I could be closer to all my buddies. However, looking back I had the opportunity to experience things kids growing up in the suburbs did not. Feeding cows. Raising chickens. Riding horses.

These pictures were taken during a visit home, many years after I’d moved away. I believe they were taken around 2001. They are some of the only ones I have of two very prolific compost piles in our great big backyard. Pictured, my dad, sister and Suzy the dog are feeding and examining the piles. I believe those are tomato plants growing in the bigger pile.

It’s interesting looking back on the who’s and why’s in regards to influences in behavior in the present but you might not be surprised to know that I still compost. It may not be anywhere near as big, but even though I now live in the suburbs, I still have a compost pile.

As summer begins to bloom in the desert I wonder if my compost pile will ever be so pretty. One thing is for certain. It will certainly never be this big or have grubs so fat and green.