You never know what will show up on a social networking website. There's one friend on my list there who, quite regularly, posts photos of 'dump treasures'. These photographs have created quite a rousing discussion of the dump at East Hampton.
Some folks are sharing the finding of 'good stuff' they've rescued from the recycling area. One spoke of some items that sound suspiciously like things we delivered to the spot while we were in the midst of a move. Others have remarked about the 'camping out' of many who seek out things in good shape which they can sell at yard sales for a little extra cash. I know one man who is a 'regular' at the pavillion. He waits for a drop off, then rushes in like a vulture at a carcass, and lays claim to whatever pleases him. He told me that he's found many old pieces of jewelry, including diamond rings, in the drawers of discarded bureaus and desks. There were great numbers of those who sat on the tailgates of their trucks, waiting all day for just the 'perfect" finds. My husband and I arrived one day with our refuse, to find a semi-circle of folks having a 'tailgate party' and eating watermelon while they waited!
There has been discussion of the entertainment aspect of the dump. Shooting rats with pellet guns, was 'big' with some young men at the old Bull Path location, before it was fenced in. It was done after dark, when there was noone but other target shooters there.
In a place like East Hampton, summer renters discard many useful things at the end of the season. There are some wonderful things to be found at the recycling center, but I don't think I am so determined that I'd sit all day in the heat eating watermelon, to get them... even for free.
