One Man's Trash...

...is another man's band.

During the summer, the Albuquerque Public Library runs a great program in which kids have the chance to watch a one-woman play, a magician, or a guy who calls himself Recycle Man, all of which is tied into their reading program.

Recycle Man is a guy who uses other people's trash to make musical instruments. I find it amazing that someone can take old pipes, empty plastic bottles and boxes, springs from a trampoline, hubcaps, and cans and create a song out of it all. I had an awesome video of Recycle Man playing "Low Rider," but Blogger is having issues. Anyhow, here's a robot he made out of cans:

I think about the level of creativity it takes to put something like that together and then use it to make music, and it boggles the mind. How many people can do something like that? This might sound cheesy, but it takes being in tune with your inner child. My kid (in the photo, by the way), might use a box or a pencil or a rubber band in totally unexpected ways. I would have never imagined using an ordinary tool for something extraordinary. It's a reminder that creativity stems from somewhere childlike, which is probably why it makes people so happy to paint or sew costumes or make music or dance or do any of a number of creative things, because it sends you right back to being a kid.