From Scraps to Robots

During one of my summer trips, I found myself in Durham NC. My nephews were celebrating their sixth birthday and I HAD to be there. My nephews are very special people in my life. My own children have been very slow in producing grandchildren and I NEEDED to be a grandmotherly type person. So when Brian and Andrew arrived, I just decided that being an Auntie type person would be just as good. It is a privilege to see the world through the eyes of a small person – to be able to forget about mortgages and bills and worldly worries and just play cosmic space spider or build with legos. I have learned about robots and dragons and read great new stories. Now, when I am in Durham, Kit (mother of twins) fills the days with lots of great activities. One of these was a trip to the Scrap Exchange. This place collects clean industrial discards and reuses them. Or puts them in bins and stacks and piles and invites people to come in, be creative and reuse them. The store collects all sorts of things from businesses in Durham and then sells them for very reasonable prices. It is staffed by funky young people who enjoy making art out of found objects. And, if you need to build a robot or a space ship, this is the place to go. Andrew, Brian and I could hardly wait to go! Once there, you collect a plastic bag – you would recognize the bag as the one that your mattress pad or sheets came in (the one with a zipper around three sides). You then wander up and down the aisles pawing through bins of stuff until you find the perfect parts for the engine or the body or the wings. And then there is the bin of medical IV tubing that works well for carrying lubricant to the joints of our robot. Or maybe we could build a house out of these cardboard bricks….. or color on this cool paper…. Oh look! Parts of a lamp! And a wall out of old VHS tapes? Why not! The boys and I happily filled our bags and headed to the checkout to pay… until I saw interesting arrangements of mannequin body parts…. And then I HAD to take pictures. So if you are ever in Durham, stop by and let your creative juices flow!