Free stuff

I have a bright pink feather marabou that I am trying to adopt out to a new home. This marabou came into my possession quite unexpectedly after a fundraising gala three or four years ago. It has been hanging in my clothes closet ever since. But that’s another story. When I was a young girl, there is nothing in the world that I loved more than pink, sparkly, foofy, girly accessories. Not to say that my room looked like the land of tinker-bell, but if I had been able to make my own décor selections at that age, you never know.

Back to the boa, I thought this would be a relatively easy item to give away. I first asked a couple of young women at the office that I thought would probably be going out to a hip Halloween party and might want a fun, over-the-top accessory. No go on that idea. Next I offered the boa to a high-school aged boy who is involved in the performing arts at his school. That seemed like an obvious choice to me – he would probably know some cute girl that would adore it, right? No go on that idea, either.

So, I changed my tactic and decided to target a younger audience. I brought the marabou to work and took it by the desk of a colleague who has a young step-daughter. I thought that if she saw it in person, she would instantly know that her kid would just love it. Not exactly a fit. She did have a suggestion, though. She recommended that I try to give it to another colleague involved in a Halloween party for kids at work. All the volunteers for this party will be wearing costumes and she needed one. Well, that route didn’t pan out either.

I know two or three more colleagues here in the office with young daughters. But I have to admit that the outlook appears bleak. Fortunately, I do have a fallback plan if these prospects fail: donation to the prop collection for community theater via another colleague. Adoptive home of last resort, but I would nonetheless count that as a success.

Who would ever think that it was so difficult to give away free stuff?