Deep down the gully, there it was, the abandoned shopping trolley.
It was during a walk while feeling a bit at a loss that I came across this scene. Mittagong where I live is built on top of a series of natural springs which are now mainly channeled into large concrete storm-water drainage pipes running under streets and buildings. The springs are being fed subterranean water running from two mountainous hills on either side of Mittagong.
This lonely trolley drew my attention as I crossed an exposed section of this spring. I looked down pensively into the running water, trying to clear a somewhat troubled mind, when I spotted it. It is laying on its side almost prostrating itself as if into submission. It made me wonder what on earth possesses a person to throw a trolley down a springs embankment. What has this trolley done to deserve this fate? How many times did this trolley fulfill its simple obligations and help the shopper deliver food to their cars? Why do people take trolleys outside the shopping centers? Is it some kind of punishment, a failed marriage or relationship? A blind rage? I bet they are mainly abandoned by men. I wonder if a good psychologist could find a link between the trolley abandoner and domestic violence? There is a lot there!
One often sees shopping trolleys being discarded miles away from shops. It isn’t the first time I have seen them being discarded. In Europe you can’t take them outside shopping centers . An alarm goes off or they have deposit systems like the famous Aldi shops have. I now feel I should clamber down the embarkment and retrieve this poor trolley. It looks a bit tricky though and I don’t want to fall. I know shopping trolleys are inanimate objects but there are often connections crossing over to us humans on our present state of abandonment and lonely discarded trolleys.
A good friend suggests I should take a bone density test first. The trolley looks very much intact. I don’t want to risk ending up next to the trolley, prostrate and all.
Oosterman Treats Blog 