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Friday, May 6, 2011

Garbage Trucks and Hangerman!

Good Morning to all!
It turns out that 6 Dos Equis does not give you a hangover!  Good deal!
I forgot to change my post of the week yesterday so I did it this morning.
Check it out it's right over there>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was from May 30th of last year.  The weather was a bit warmer.  The flowers were already in the ground and the garden was planted.  I really loved taking care of my yard and last year was my best year at this house.  The place looked great!
This year I am so bummed out because as you know this house deal is taking forever and it would be kinda stupid to start a garden or plant any flowers.  It's hard even cutting the grass.
My house is just devoid of any warmth now.  Towering boxes marked fragile and basement stacked into every corner and leaning like the great Pisa!
Half of my cookware is packed all of my tools are packed.  Stupid realty and bank people.  You can all kiss my arse!  Tell me I will be moving and then rescind and tell me not yet, not yet, soon, be patient, two weeks, any day now, just a bit longer, now it's the end of May.  The same time last year my green thumb was in full swing.  So now what do I do?  Sit around and hope people comment on my blog so I have something to do or drink myself into happiness or just yell at the wife and kids.  I'm really good at the last two!
Who the hell knows.  I just know I'm not really good at sitting around.  Bad things happen when I get bored.

Did I ever tell you the story of how I used to ride on the back of a garbage truck when I was a kid?

Yep I was a hangerman!  That's what we used to call it.  Pickin' trash. 
I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-13 ish and my family was in the rubbish business.
Bushman's Disposal.  Family owned and operated since the 40's or 50's I don't recall exactly.
Grandad had retired to Florida and dad was running the joint. 
I used to get up every morning M-F with my pops and go to work with him.  Every morning I would receive two dollars(which back then would get you a Big Mac lunch and a bottle of Pepsi at the end of the day)
for lunch and what not.  I would jump up in the big garbage truck and off we would go.  My job?
Ride on the back step hanging on to the little D handle (hangerman) and throw the trash in the back of the truck every time the driver stopped at a house.  I know that doesn't sound glorious to you now but go back 20 years or so when you were a kid.  Change the perspective any?  I loved it.  It was hard work but I earned a wage.  It wasn't much but Pops started a bank account for me.  Back then I had the little leather covered savings book.  Life was grand!  Of course now a days you wouldn't dare send a 12 yr old out on a garbage truck swinging in the summer breeze from the little D handle.  Kids are different now.  Laws are in place now to make sure these children grow up sheltered and with their pants hanging around their ass. 
(Their version of hangerman)
Back then you could find some really neat stuff at the dump to.  I once found an almost brand new telescope in a fancy wooden box.  Cha Ching!  Now we have landfills and they cover the trash with dirt as soon as the truck unloads it.  No scrounging allowed.  Bastards!  Don't even think about calling it a dump either!

All I can say is I loved those days.  Innocent, hardworking, pants pulled up and respectful kid I was!
Of course all my friends were off playing the summer away but occasionally I would spot them out playing in the yard or running through the sprinkler as we pulled  up in front of their house in the big green garbage truck and I could see the envy in their eyes.  Yep, it was worth it!

Until next time......and don't forget to leave a cold bottle of Pepsi out for your trash man.  It'll make his day!

                                                       Picture credited to Stefan Amer



4 comments:

  1. Awesome story. Life seemed so much simpler back then too. I used to work on my grandparents farm for money back in the day.

    And leave a Pepsi for the trashman? Ha. Now I would have to leave one of those Mexican sodas for out trashman.

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  2. During the summer (back in the day) I used to get up to ride along with my Dad on the milk delivery truck. We went to restaurants, schools, hospitals, stores, etc. making deliveries. The highlight of the day was going into someplace that wasn't open yet and stealing a cookie or brownie or something that you knew they couldn't do anything about. My friends all wondered why I would get out of bed around 4am to do this. Why? Because now that my Dad is gone, I have a great childhood memory of him and I.

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  3. Oil--It was simpler back then. Somehow we messed it all up!

    Amy--It sure is nice to have something to hang on to that no one else has!

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  4. Ah, the dump! You could find some great crap there, for sure.
    I don't much drink beer. But, when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty and hangover-free, my friends.
    Thanks for the tip.

    ReplyDelete

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