By Trent Rosser
This past week was rough for me. Ever have one of those days when nothing goes right? Yea, that's how my month has been. It seems like I have been constantly knocked down. But, as I have said before, it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, it matters how many times you get back up. If you get knocked down 5 times, you get back up 6 times. Sometimes though, there comes a little angel to help. Mine came in one of the new trash trucks while picking up my new trash cart.
The trash situation started last week for me. I had a few days off and my lawn needed to be mowed. I have talked before about sitting on the front porch all evening long just watching the cars pass by. It is even more serene when you have a freshly manicured lawn. So I broke out the mower and got to work. With the leaves and dead grass from this past winter, I had 4 bags of grass clippings. Suddenly, my neighbor appeared. They too wanted their grass cut and ask me to do it. I try to be a good person so of course I will. Then my other neighbor came out and asked the same thing. I couldn't say no. After all, that's what good friends and neighbors do. They help each other out.
After I had mowed 3 houses on my block, I realized I had started a trend. 3 more of my neighbors were out mowing. One even bought a new mower and I had to put it together for them. Finally I was able to sit and relax on my porch. The bad thing was I now had about 11 bags of grass clippings sitting on my curb. There was no way they would all fit in the new trash carts. If only the city didn't take away my dumpster for our overfill.
Then the first neighbor got a hold of me and wanted to take up all her mulch and get rid of it. She said that she would even pay me, so why not. I figured it wouldn't be that bad. 2 days later, my wife and I finally finished bagging up all the mulch. We stacked them with the grass clippings. We now had 11 bags of grass and leaves, and 23 bags of old, wet, mulch. Can ya guess what happened next? Yep, another neighbor came and needed his driveway raked of all the wet leaves. Again, I said I would take care of it. So again I start bagging up leaves.
Finally done. After 4 days of pushing a mower, and weed eater around 3 different houses, spending hours on my already worn out knees raking mulch and leaves, I was able to sit back on my porch and relax. It was beautiful, with the exception of 30 something trash bags full of mulch, leaves, and grass. Thank God it was trash day. I put my cart where we were told to put it with our regular trash in it and left for the day.
Guess what happened when I came home. Yep, nothing was picked up. I was under the impression that the city would pick up the bulk items on certain days. But not this time. A few days go by and it is a new trash day. I wasn't going anywhere so I would wait for the trash truck. I knew that I would make the trash truck driver mad, but I was going to block him from going past. I had it planned out. He would dump my cart, and then I would refill it right there so he could dump it again. It was about this time that I realized that the other neighbors did the same thing with their grass clippings. Except, they were not home to refill their carts. So our entire block had about 50 trash bags full of clippings and leaves. The trash truck was about a block away. If I was him, I would have turned around and went the other way. Instead this driver drove right up to my cart and stepped out.
After a brief introductions, I explained what had happened. He said that he wasn't at work the other day and someone should have picked up the bags. I explained that I would throw them in the cart myself and he said that they were not supposed to do that, but since it was not done before, he wouldn't mind. Then it started to rain! Here is the surprising thing. The driver would dump the cart, then he actually got out and helped me throw the bags in the cart. He did this every time. After we got that done, I asked about the neighbors bags as well. He had no problem letting me do the same thing with their bags also.
When were finished, we had a little small talk. He told me that most of the trash truck drivers really hate the carts, but could see where they could be beneficial. I also was told that the trucks and the carts were purchased BEFORE the city council approved them. We talked a little more while getting soaked. I thanked him again and he said that if we needed anything, just let him know.
I was ready to fight with a trash truck driver, due to city council taking away my dumpster. I was not going to put the bags in my car and I no longer own a truck so I was prepared to go to war. What I found was peace. I remember that sometimes I, myself, need to practice what I preach. “Don't kill the messenger.” I did a simple act of helping my neighbors, my neighbors help me. And my new friend, the trash truck driver went above and beyond what was expected. Yep, the trash man cometh, and he taketh away!
Rosser/Provided