What do you feel is the most significant “re-purposed” thing in your life?
For me, my whole life has been a constant state of change (re-purpose)! One of my favorite positions (and I’ve had numerous jobs throughout my life) was being Sales Manager at The Courier-Journal newspaper. Unfortunately most all printed media was dying a slow painful death, due to the advent of the internet, and found it impossible (or refused) to adapt to the changing times. But to me, there was no more exciting of a career than watching a physical newspaper come together from reporters gathering a story, editors directing the flow of information that would be printed, publishers overseeing all operations of the newspaper, advertising securing revenue to help retailers sell their wares, production of the physical product with incredible precision and machinations, delivered early every morning to thousands of locations both at homes and in retail stores 7-days a week, monitoring sales throughout the day merchandising and resupplying, then having any unsold papers removed when the next days issues are delivered. I’ve never found ANY product that can boast a 24-hour shelf life like that and do it consistently. It's a shame it has been relegated to the "archives of media" as up-to-the-minute news and information is readily available on every phone now, 24-hours a day and 7 days a week. The biggest problem with the internet, is that many tend to just glean articles, headlines and information, not worrying about delving deeper into a story to check on accuracy or to really educate themselves on a particular subject, and this has created massive information accountability issues. It may be hard to place all the blame on the reader, as they are bombarded every minute of every day with an ever-changing news cycle, and nefarious characters know and use this assault as a means to an end, regardless of the damage they are causing the human condition. Gone are the days of spending hours reading either at home or in libraries, as our assaulted senses are given little time to rest in between each click of our thumbs. While I believe the internet can and is used for great advances in our lives (why I'm here!) it also has caused the deterioration of the abilities to interact with each other, and the very fabric of family and human society.
Which makes my conclusion about re-purposing so important. After being given a "death sentence" late in 2016 with a terminal cancer diagnosis (which we are still doing our best to prove them wrong!) and forced to give up many of the abilities I had learned in my professional life (being able to multi-task, remembering one minute to the next what I was working on, being able to handle stress and the now constant battles with stamina) I was forced to accept that life was drastically changing from the carefully orchestrated plans, and required me to re-purpose myself or be run over by this disease. Like 95% of the materials I use in my art, crafts and refinishing, I'm doing my best to live by my mantra of re-purposing what has been given up on, forgotten, or tossed aside. Oh how I wished the newspaper industry had heeded that same advice 20 years ago!
Blessings to All!
JD
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