Lenders and Borrowers Beware

LIviNg LiFe to the fullest often means getting down and dirty with your friends. There are many ways in which that could be construed although I have a particularly dirty piece in mind.

Lending & borrowing. Are you a lender? A borrower? Or both? I happen to be both. The way we were brought up in my house was that if you needed to borrow something, you were better to be prepared to replace it in case anything happened to. If we lent something out we needed to consider it given away, if it came back in good shape that was a bonus. If we weren't able to do either of those, then we would be better off to refrain from borrowing or lending altogether.

Well, now I am all grown up, at least that is what the birthdate on my drivers license suggests! One of my favourite bands is the Barra MacNeils, my favourite album of theirs is called " The Question". On that album is a song called "Goin' Back" one of the lines is "and now I think I've got a lot more than a skipping rope to lend." True story.

So, quite some time ago, I was with a mini-gaggle of women. Oh yeah, it was fantastic! We know how to rip it up on iced tea, let me tell ya. The topic of borrowing and lending came up. As you can imagine, we ALL had a story or two (or twelve!) to share.

One time, in another life and in another land far away, there was a family that liked to borrow rather than purchase. This is an accepted practice when it is occasional. But, if you are going to take up skiing as a family hobby, and you have purchased a family seasons pass for …..oh let’s say…. Mount Swish…..BUY YOUR OWN EQUIPTMENT! Oops, my outside voice came into the house again! One member of the gaggle who has asked to remain anonymous shared a story. I will call her Blossom.

Blossom Responsible and her hubby are very organized, and take very good care of their belongings. Their children are being raised to take care of their belongings as well. So much so in fact, that after attending the annual ski swap that is held in the area of Mt.Swish, and purchasing their own 2nd hand equipment, they resold it the next season for higher value. Tell you anything?

So, enter Biff and Sissy (maybe not their real names), they are good friends of Blossom and Fred. They had decided to try skiing. Excellent! They borrowed the Responsible families’ equipment and hit the slopes of Mt.Swish. It was awesome! They loved it! They decided it would be no biggie if they used the equipment again the next weekend. Their thoughts were that Blossom and Fred wouldn’t mind if they used it, with out checking, and so the pattern continued throughout the season. Okay…so that was last season. Blossom and Fred, along with their Responsible kids, didn’t ski last year. This season they were pulling the gear together, making sure everything was in order, as they were planning to ski every weekend for their family outings. A long overdue call to Biff and Sissy resulted in the return of the toothpick and metal recycling quality gear being returned.

Hmmmmmmmmm, that would not have passed muster in my family’s manner of borrowing. Unfortunately Biff and Sissy had NO clue. Blossom and Fred did not want to create an issue out this painful learning experience. Lesson learned I suppose, but…there was a funny moment that came out of it.

On the night of the mini-gaggle gathering, we were hashing over the what if’s and how to’s to deal with this type of situation….I came up with a great idea! Okay, more bizarre or ridiculous than great…2 sets of everything! Easy peasy! If I am gonna be a lender, I just buy 2 sets: one to use and one to lend! That way, I always have my gear in great shape and ready to use whenever I want, and my Biffy/Sissy friends are happy too.

Lots of people would be really happy with this! The realtors are gonna benefit because now I need a way bigger house! Vendors and manufacturers are happy because now I am spending double on things that an average family would only buy one of! Biff and Sissy are happy because they can buy more shoes and polo shirts since they don’t have to spend their money on the sporting equipment, camping gear, and lawn care essentials.

What do you think? Good idea? Or all to familiar and painful? Are you Biff or Sissy? Hmmmmm, can I borrow your new…..LOL! Kidding, I don’t wanna borrow anything. But I know someone who does!


Note:
It was written, in 1602From Shakespeare's Hamlet,:
Spoken by Lord Polonius to his son Laertes:

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.*

Literally it would be written:

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
For a loan often loses both the loan and the friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of the economy.*

(*www.enotes.com/hamlet-text/act-i-scene-iii)