In case you haven’t heard,  we’ve been getting some pretty scary weather here in the Midwest.  Like, tornados in Kentucky.  And high velocity winds barreling through towns .  Last night, the wind was so strong that it blew down the trash cans I had set out along the street. Remember, we’re seniors who finally persuaded the city to give us two smaller cans instead of one big one.  That was a fight we finally won.  However, the waste management company isn’t happy with us.  They showed us their ire by refusing to pick up our trash this morning. The  city bypassed windblown senior trash cans.

There are usually two, strong, able bodied men in the trash collector’s truck.  However, they rely totally on automation to pick up the cans.  A big old vise that reaches out its claws, picks up the cans, then dumps the contents.  Often , they then throw back the empty cans, leaving them on the ground.  At any rate, when the  truck passed our driveway early this morning, they could easily see that the strong wind had blown over our skinny  trash cans, leaving bags lying in puddles of water.  Did they care in the least?  Hardly They turned up their noses and drove right on by, knowing full well they were leaving two seniors in the lurch.  What were they expecting us to do?  And why couldn’t they have stepped out of their comfort zone, got out of the truck, and set the cans upright?

I took a few deep breaths to control my anger, got dressed, walked out in the rain and set the cans upright, closing the lids.  Then I called Republic at some out of state number.  The person answering the phone thought I was calling from Indianapolis.  I guess that’s what my address in Indiana made her think.  Anyway, I told her what had happened, and she was kind enough to get in touch with the local office, She said she would take care of it, and she did.  A few minutes later, I looked out the window and saw the cans had been emptied.  Thank you, ma’am.

What if I hadn’t been awake early this morning while the trucks were still in the vicinity.?  What would we have done about our trash for the coming week?  It’s  disgusting that the city would bypass windblown senior trash cans.