Free is good

I received a great blessing yesterday: a Gazelle Freestyle exercise machine. (You know, the one you've seen on TV. ) I've never been very physically active, and even less so since the chronic fatigue kicked in. I know I need to exercise -- in addition to being overweight, my stamina is poor, and my blood pressure is at the lower end of the at-risk range. But between my sedentary nature, my chronic fatigue, and my aversion to the awful heat and humidity here, it just doesn't happen much. So having this at home, where I can use it at my convenience and in air conditioning, is wonderful.

What's more, I got this Gazelle free. And that lets me segue into an off-topic plug for what I think is one of the Internet's killer apps: freecycling. The Freecycle Network is sort of an Internet-based sale, yard sale, and thrift store combined, but without the cost. It uses Yahoo bulletin boards to do what the Internet does best -- connect people to each other directly. Each freecycle group is local, serving one city, county, or region. To get things, you look at the list of items offered and ask for the ones you want. (Or post a request yourself, for things you want.) If the donor chooses you, you pick it up. To get rid of things, you post offers, choose someone from the replies you get, and the recipient comes to you to pick up.

Freecycle gives everyone exactly what they want. No wasted shopping trips. No hauling things to the thrift store or the dumpster. No money changes hands. No one is a "charity case." No catch. The result: less work, less driving, less gas burned, and less trash going into our landfills. Donors are happy to be rid of clutter, and recipients are happy with their new things. Everyone wins!

The Gazelle is the most expensive freecycle item I've received so far, but there's a surprising amount of valuable merchandise given away through the groups: working appliances, computers, furniture, musical instruments, clothes, building materials, books ... everything you'd find at a thrift store, plus many items thrift stores don't handle. I've contributed my share of items, and it's wonderful to have people come to me to take away things I don't want anymore.

Check it out. There are almost 3,000 freecycle groups with about 1.5 million members, so the chances are good that there's already a group near you. And if there's not ... you can start one.