The city magpies fly through Paris as the sun rises, eyes fixed on the ground, searching for the unexpected riches people have thrown away overnight. When they find something that glitters, they swoop.Beneath my window I see them land, perching alongside the dead carcass of an unwanted sofa. They quickly strip away the carrion, throwing the iron guts into their beaten up van.
But these are no thieving magpies. Instead they are opportunists, profiting from the objects we throw out of our nests. One for sorrow, two for joy, three for the girl, four for the boy...As the city wakes up, they fly on to the scrap merchants, transforming their pickings into a few pieces of gold.
Dear Invisible Paris,
ReplyDeleteYour post made me remember some clever friends from Barcelona, Spain. A few years ago, they created a group called "La cofradÃa del mueble" (The Brotherhood of Furniture). They did the same as the Paris Magpies, picking goodies from the street at dawn, but then, instead of selling them right away, they brought the cartch of the day to their atelier, to restore it and to artistically intervene it, basically with hand-written pieces of poetry or thoughts. They became so famous that they once appeared on Elle Deco.
best,
Hannia
FUNDACION DE LA MEMORIA URBANA
Adam; I like your story weaving...
ReplyDeleteWe discussed that subject only yesterday; we have a monthly 'large household items disposal' but whenever I put something out, it's gone overnight. Which make me thankful for being 'rich' enough to provide others with something they don't have...
Lovely story telling!
I was deeply in love with a boy like a magpie, once.
ReplyDeleteI love it when people think out of the box and on the street. In South Africa a group of woman use old jeans and make beautiful handbags from them. Decorating them with African beads etc. They also use old x-rays from hospitals to line the bags to make them more sturdy… Talk about being innovative!! Carla
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I just yesterday blogged about Paris' falcon community. Should you be interested it is at http://www.marilynztomlins.com
ReplyDeleteBi for now.
Marilyn
Adam,
ReplyDeleteThe title caught my attention and the story held it. Nice to see such things. In our neighbourhood, the Beaches in Toronto, we put useful things out on the sidewalk for others to take. It works amazingly well. And yes, it feels good to have fewer things going to the landfill.
Norman