For those who live in Bergenfield the above title especially applies because this week the city of Bergenfield offers “bulk pickup.” I often watch as the night before the official pickup cars and trucks drive slowly through the streets perusing what has been left outside in front of homes searching for a buried treasure. Just a few days ago a person posted on a website that she had a Pottery Barn rug to give away. It was in excellent condition and was purchased for $600. She concluded the posting by saying that if there were no takers it would be in the garbage the next day.

I never really thought about this very seriously until I was contacted by my good friend Shirley Vann of Fairlawn who seems to do nothing but chesed. Her deeds are all sanctioned by Anshe Lubavitch of Fair Lawn Some of you might know her as the coordinator of the Fair Lawn Gown Gemach but what others do not know is that there is also a furniture gemach in Fairlawn which has a listing of about 600 names and when contacted they will post the items being given away. The crunch is that one cannot expect the items to be picked up within 24 hours of when they are listed. Not everyone has access to a van or truck within such a short time frame. I cannot imagine that the decision of what to give away is spur of the moment when it is a piece of furniture. When indicating that it is being put outside until the rain comes that evening or the garbage comes the next morning does not give many takers the opportunity to get what they could make great use of. I myself have experienced the frustration upon posting an item to give away assuming that I should save it for the first person requesting it and then frustratingly that person never shows up. A little derech eretz would actually help in these situations.

Speaking of derech eretz and sort of at the curb I feel penalized each day as I leave the Link office and try to make a right turn onto Queen Anne from Ayers Court. Has anyone ever attempted to turn right from Ayers Court to Queen Anne? If you were and it was during the day time hours you would find out that the road does not belong to drivers but to the people who feel that they own it. Try making a right turn around a car that is illegally standing on the corner and then onto Queen Anne where three cars are illegally double parked. The funniest thing to my mind is that sometimes they are double parked in front of an empty space. Guess it was too much to try to park. I bet that the people who are driving those cars and being this disrespectful to others are extremely concerned that their meat be glatt mehadrin mehadrin. Watch as drivers double park and run into a store as they see a driver getting into his car where the double parker is blocking him. Would it not be easier to allow him to get out of his space and then pull into it. Horrors no because then you will waste 30 seconds running to get your food. I for one am happy to see the police giving out tickets to all of the people who think that the roads belong to them and that the rules are meant for others. We could apply derech eretz to every area of our lives. Lots of room for another article in the future!

Nina Glick can be reached at [email protected].