Henrietta Hay's Column

We live in a throwaway society. This includes everything from safety pins to refrigerators.

And it includes computer monitors. My computer monitor became seriously ill recently. The computer doctor who makes house calls took it to a computer hospital, and I have not seen it since. I never did get a diagnosis or find out where it was. Eventually I gave up and bought a new monitor.

This was what is known as a learning experience. Never send a computer monitor to the hospital. It causes ulcers in the owner and no telling what in the monitor.

The throwaway phenomenon is especially difficult for those of us who were raised during the Great Depression. The word "great" refers to the depth and length of said economic depression, not to how good it was. We were taught not to throw anything away. To this day, when I start to discard something with a little life left in it I see my mother's or my father's face looming over me saying, "Better not. You might need it some day."

Fortunately I have been able to overcome, partially at least, the save-everything addiction.

Do you remember when we used to mend socks? A hole in the toe meant digging out the old darning egg. Now I can throw a sock away without a second thought and the darning egg went years ago. When a toaster or a lamp quit toasting or lighting we took it to an appliance repair shop. Now it costs more to fix it than replace it so we usually toss it out and buy a new one.

This is not to say that things are better or worse now - only different and more expensive. But just think of all the people who would be out of work if we went back to saving and fixing things instead of buying new ones. I guess it is my patriotic duty to pitch stuff and keep the economy healthy.

I have some friends who are good citizens and pick up the trash in a two-mile stretch of Highway 50. They report some interesting finds. There is the standard detritus of a messy society. Greasy hamburger wrappers, beer bottles, tin cans, dirty diapers, used condoms (this item is interesting on the side of a busy highway where the speed limit is 75 mph), and shoes. Why would somebody throw away a single shoe? One day they found a good, expensive earring. They recovered a five-dollar bill one day, occasional singles, a full set of cooking utensils, the top of a Weber barbecue and a case of brand new doorknobs. The most common items, though, are parts of old cars, deposited by people who consider that the beautiful landscape is improved by turning it into a dump.

Things people lose and don't bother to retrieve count as throwaways. The clean up crew at Mile High stadium after a Bronco game finds quite a variety. Most of the unclaimed stuff is clothing, but several years ago they reported finding several wedding bands, a garage door openers and several tiny TV's that nobody bothered to reclaim. One Bronco fan left without his expensive basketball shoes and another cheered until her dentures fell out and got lost. She did come back for those when she got hungry.

Castoffs from rock concerts are even more impressive. After a Guns 'N Roses concert several years ago they found a Chevy Blazer in the parking lot it was never reclaimed.

But there is hope for our throwaway society. Every few days I trudge over to the re-cycling bins with newspapers, plastic, tin and glass to be used again. And the teenagers are helping. In the not too distant past a rip in the knee of a pair of jeans meant getting out the sewing machine and stitching it up. Now they come ripped and as near as I can tell by observation, the kids never throw them out.

As for me, I've mended my last sock. I'm doing my patriotic duty for the clothing industry.