A Taiwan memory surfaced today. In the 80s we acquired furniture in fits and starts. Some came from people who were leaving. They would sell or give things away. Initially, we got a stove from someone, a kitchen table from somebody else, and a single bed or two from I don’t remember where. As the years passed we added a set of solid maple dinette chairs that someone had brought with them from Tennessee. Once when a company that had brought a lot of staff from Texas lost the contract they were working on, we got an entire set of flatware and some decorative sheets. We did buy a lot of new stuff, but even then it was from the bargain furniture stores on Kaohsiung’s Chin-nien Road. Whatever we had got beaten up as we moved from apartment to apartment, or put it all into storage while periodically in North America.
The last half of 1999 and the first half of 2000 we were away for 12 months. Rather than having a storage company take care of things, we rented an uninhabitable flat next door to ours and moved everything there ourselves. During the year away we managed to get a new lease on our old place. Moving back in was another DIY affair. Things got dinged and dented going through the doors. Cursory examination of the kids’ bedroom furnishings revealed the extent to which my cheapskate tendencies had been destructive. But before replacing it, I got another idea. We could either buy new, or buy paint. Colors were kids’ choice, and I’d buy the brushes, too. If it all got ruined, then we hadn’t wasted much. To the cheapskate’s pleasure, they opted for the paint.
In 2007 we once again left for a long time, and were slated to relocate upon return. We dumped a LOT of worn out stuff, including that colorful bedroom furniture. The rest went into storage. Upon return it was moved to Tainan and unloaded, getting beaten up twice. What we needed new after that was purchased at IKEA. Other needs were met by either piecing together a table here and there, or buying stuff the wrong color and applying paint. That furniture lasted us until retirement in 2018, and, who knows, someone may still be using it.
Memories aside, today in Michigan I hauled out a can of “one step stain and varnish” and attempted to match some “blonde” furniture to the “brunette” woodwork in the house. I think it came out a bit more auburn than I had intended, and certainly wasn’t “one step”. We’re going away for a week during which it should dry enough for sanding and a second coat upon return. Whether it’ll ever get back into the house, or remain as “garage furniture” where it sits now, is another matter.
David Alexander resides in Holland, MI after 39 years in Taiwan.
Aboksu 