“De-liver me from this peg, friend.”
For Romeo, parting was such sweet sorrow. For a 25-year-old Wellington man and a single yellow clothes peg, parting is a joy unto itself.
Former Salient News Editor Michael Oliver has launched The De-Liver Me From Pegs Sale.
Inspired by the efforts of Canadian Kyle MacDonald, who traded up from a single red paperclip to a two-storey house, Oliver hopes to trade upwards from a single yellow clothes peg, all in the name of charity.
On May 17, Oliver launched the first of the De-Liver Me From Pegs auctions on TradeMe. He hopes that in a year’s time, what was once a yellow peg will soon be something “awesomely magnificent, and magnificently awesome”.
Oliver says on his auction, “My goal is tantalisingly simple: between May 2010 and May 2011, I plan to TRADE UP from a single yellow peg, to something else, and then something else, and something else and so on, and so on.
“In 12 months’ time, I will auction whatever I’ve traded up to and donate all funds raised to the Immune Deficiencies Foundation of New Zealand (IDFNZ).”
Oliver doesn’t have an ultimate goal in mind, but remains “delightfully optimistic”.
“Some kind of boat, maybe? Or a house? Perhaps some kind of combination of the two? A boat… house?” says Oliver.
“Yes, I think that’ll do,” he says.
Oliver explains the efforts of IDFNZ plucked a string within him, which until recently, had only a sad tune to offer.
He was diagnosed with a rare disease called Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH) in 2007, and an even rarer illness called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 2009.
AIH is a rare autoimmune disease, caused by the body’s immune system attacking liver cells, causing chronic inflammation, while PSC is even rarer autoimmune disease, caused by the body’s immune system attacking the liver’s bile ducts.
Despite describing his illnesses as a “bit of a downer”, Oliver says the chance to give something back is a joy.
“Where my illnesses are caused by an overzealous immune system attacking my body, those with PIDs struggle with even the most common of colds.”
The choice of a yellow peg is one coloured in symbolism.
“I have far too many pegs lying about my flat hither and thither. They’re a little like the antibodies that way. It wouldn’t hurt to get rid of one,” Oliver says.
Oliver will keep tabs of his various acquisitions and trades at his blog, www.amanonstage.net.