As I approach my 71st trip around the sun on April 26, I have much to reflect on. I suppose that’s natural for someone whose life is now mostly behind them. Don’t get me wrong; I intend to live a lot longer. Apparently, it’s in my Sicilian genes: my mother lived to 99-plus as did her mother did. Be that as it may, it’s safe to say there’s more highway behind than in front of me.
One of the thoughts I keep returning to is the value of old things, including people. And I keep coming up with the terms expiration date and planned obsolescence. They are certainly related, but they are not the same. Everything has an end date, a time when something will no longer exist. It just wears out. Even the universe will someday collapse in on itself and simply expire. This is the natural way of things.
However, planned obsolescence is something completely different. Rather than naturally occurring, as its name suggests, it is something manufactured in people’s minds. It’s a willful application rather than a natural one. And it applies to virtually everything made by humans with rare exception. In our society, few things besides good whiskey, rare coins, and great art are created to last forever. We could make things that consider a more natural end (i.e., wear out), but we don’t. That doesn’t make good business sense. Manufacturers need things to fail deliberately so they can sell you more. Fair enough, but where do we draw the line? I understand technology changes – rapidly. I will not/cannot stand in the way. But this is planned. Landfills can only handle only so much more discarded junk.
Personally, I get great joy in making something – anything – last for as long as it possibly can. This includes shoes, clothing, machines, pottery, furniture, and cars, among other things I can cobble together. I love innovating repair methods for things that probably should have been thrown away a long time ago – at least according to my partner Amanda.
I will use glue, staples, wire, cable ties, paint, screws, or nails to accomplish my goals. Once my sneakers wear out, I will glue them back together (if necessary) and then recycle them as garden shoes. I’ve been known to use tape to repair a favorite pair of pants. If they get too bad, they don’t get thrown away. They also get recycled as work pants. I may still have clothes that are older than some readers. And yes, that drives Amanda crazy, too. I’ll try to save a virtually dead plant simply because it has one pathetic leaf left on it. In my mind, everything deserves to last as long as it possibly can.
It’s not that I can’t afford new things. I am very fortunate and grateful to have had a successful career that allows me a certain level of comfort and choice in my old age. And I’m not cheap — frugal, yes, cheap, no. It’s more of a mindset. And it should be applied to people above everything else. We should look to find value in everything, especially since I have often found value long after something’s so-called planned expiration dates. If I can find it in an old pair of sneakers, I must certainly be able to discover it in an older person!
Yes, things get repurposed (like my sneakers). I can no longer physically do the things I could when I was 25. And I don’t have to because I continually repurpose myself to be productive and alive. I have a lot left to give and intend to do so until no nail, glue, staple, screw, rope, adhesive, or foreign substance can put me back together again. Then I’ll have reached my expiration date. But I’ll never be obsolete.
Frank LoBuono is a Nyack resident, photographer, blogger and retired CBS News journalist.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are those of this independent writer and not the Nyack News & Views editorial staff. We welcome submissions from anybody who is interested in publishing their thoughts, ideas and perspectives about issues facing our community, both large and small. Please send submissions to info@nyacknewsandviews.com.
Photo credit: George Pejoves