Free toy inside

Several weeks ago I saw a post on the Craigslist Chicago Free Stuff bulletin board from a guy in the loop giving away construction materials - lumber, plywood, insulation, conduit, etc. I called him up immediately, but never heard a response. Well, he finally called back yesterday saying if I still wanted stuff, come and get it. So I sped downtown after work and loaded up my 'Scort with as much as I could fit in there (thank god for hatchbacks).

But 4 x 8 plywood sheets just would not fit. So I had to call Mark and his pickup truck in for backup. Braving howling winds, sideways snowstorms, and confused cardrivers, we made it down and loaded his bed with all sorts of miscellaneous flat lumber. Some of it was good.. most of it was poor but will make a good wall covering for the garage. :) Thanks again for helping Mark!

The place we took it from, 120 Kinzie, was in the heart of the loop, but the building was ancient (1880s). It felt like we stepped into the twilight zone. The place was a marble tile factory for 50 years, and who knows what before. When taking the old elevator (rollup gates and all), we weighed too much so mark had to jump out. This elevator broke down later, and the guy had to tighten the belt - which spanned the basement to the motor - about 12 feet - and was made of cowhide. That's one long cow! All three levels of this place were a little creepy (good place to film a movie, right Mark!) but I just couldn't get over the fact that it was in the middle of downtown.

Anywho, the guy gave us a hand loading up the truck and we were on our way. Those of us on tight budgets gotta love people who help freecycling! :)