Posted on 07/11/2006 5:32:40 AM PDT by standingfirm
Taking a paper clip and turning it into a house sounds like a cheesy magic trick or a phony instance of resourcefulness on the 1980s TV show "MacGyver."
Kyle MacDonald, however, has pulled it off.
One year ago, the 26-year-old blogger from Montreal set out to barter one red paper clip for something and that thing for something else, over and over again until he had a house.
On Wednesday the quest is ending as envisioned: MacDonald is due to become the proud owner of a three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot home provided by the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan. MacDonald and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, expect to move there in early September.
"This is such a cool community project. It feels right," MacDonald said. "And now that I think about it, I can't believe that another small town didn't think of it. It will literally put them on the map."
What's in it for the town? The answer requires a quick MacDonald recap, featuring a menagerie of friendly folks, radio talk show hosts and aging celebrities, all bound together by the Internet.
It began when MacDonald, an aspiring writer, doer of odd jobs and apartment dweller, advertised in the barter section of the Craigslist Web site that he wanted something bigger or better for one red paper clip. He traded it for a fish-shaped pen, and posted on Craigslist again and again.
Roaming Canada and the United States, he exchanged the pen for a ceramic knob, and in turn: a camping stove, a generator, a beer keg and Budweiser sign, a snowmobile, a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a supply truck and a recording contract. Next, in April, he got himself really close, obtaining a year's rent in Phoenix.
His adventure became an Internet blockbuster. He did
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sure it's a word! I remember this guy being interviewed on one of the local afternoon radio shows here in Connecticut a little over a month ago.
Sounded like a cool goal to aim for.
I wonder how many liberals it takes to trade a paper clip for a house.
That's pretty cool. When I was in college, I was on a summer mission project. For a diversion they broke us up into teams of three and gave us each a rubber band. We had to trade up bigger and better. In about an hour, we had a couch. Actually some of the furniture and appliances at the mission house were from bigger and better games.
As an experience Bigger and Better professional, I tip my hat to the all time champion.
Liberals go the other way around.
Our college ministry group once played Bigger & Better: we started each group with a penny, and after an hour of trading up there was everything from antique golf clubs to a transmission and a freezer.
Liberals go the other way around.
LOL
But they use our house.
Campus Crusade?
What an absolutely amazing story. With imagination, energy, and the will to work for something and succeed, anything is possible.
Another old term: gumption. And then there's perseverence:
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. ~Walter Elliott, The Spiritual Life
"On Wednesday the quest is ending as envisioned: MacDonald is due to become the proud owner of a three-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot home provided by the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan. MacDonald and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, expect to move there in early September."
I thought it was a cool story until I read that MacDonald is immoral. That is, he has failed to adhere to moral standards.
Great story...I remember when this guy was first starting out!!! BRAVO!!!!
OH, shut up.
LOL!
I wouldn't pass judgement too quickly. Lack of mention of a wedding does not mean no wedding is planned before then.
I sure hope he paid his taxes on his barter transactions. (They do that in Canada, don't they?)
Do they not have or use the word fiancee, a betrothed woman? My nephew lives with a woman that he introduces as his "fiancee." Or has immorality become so commonplace that it is not worth mentioning? Unmarried, unbetrothed people living together is no longer a big deal I guess. I would have felt better if the article at least mentioned wedding plans. To me it is NOT okay for single men and women to live together.
sounds like what happens every week at gun shows. walk in with a rusty double barrel with a broken stock, walk out with a sig.
I agree 100%. However, considering that we are reading a media piece, who knows what's going on in the background? If he does indeed move in with his girlfriend, I would be condemning him as well. Since it hasn't happened yet, and no mention is made one way or the other, I am withholding any judgement I may have.
To me the whole point I liked about the article was what the guy got from a paper clip. After that, I really don't care.
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