Dave Reuses Tent Poles
Meet Dave. He responded to my Craigslist posting for slightly bent tent poles. He's into helping the Earth and the people on it. He likes to go downtown where other veterans hang out because he knows they need compassion and encouragement and because he knows it takes a good attitude to stay "up" in this world sometimes and he wants to share that message with others.
Dave also feels strongly about how we treat the Earth. He's concerned that raw sewage, for instance, has killed more people than a war. "They say it's treated, but how much? It's still sewage and it goes down to St. Joe and they use it for drinking water," he says. He believes everyone ought to clean up after themselves and look around at how their actions affect others.
Having been nearly struck in a parking lot in his wheel chair, Dave put his creativity to use to solve a few problems at once. Being a kind soul who makes these wheel chair flag poles for other vets, he set out to save lives, save money, and repurpose at the same time. He first purchased hollow tubing to hold up an inexpensive flag on his
chair to increase his visibility, but knew there must be a better way. That was when he happened across tent poles that outlasted their tent, which fit the bill perfectly. Not only do they work great to hold a flag for a vet in a wheel chair, Dave also feels good about keeping fiberglass out of the landfill and reducing the chemical waste of creating more plastic tubing.
If you have tent poles without a tent, perhaps Craigslist can help you find a new home for them. You might hear from Dave or another creative spirit. I've seen kickstands made out of tent poles, too.
