Thursday. Trash day. I walk along the
sidewalk past garbage cans heaped with refuse. A deer lay on its
side, adorned in white Christmas lights, metal legs bent backwards as
it waits to be scooped up and tossed into the back of the garbage
truck. On this trash day, I walk past stuffed animals; plastic toy
kitchens; empty hamster cages.
At around six o'clock every Wednesday,
a man drives through my neighborhood, inspecting the wares.
Occasionally, he'll stop to claim a bike or a table and load it into
the bed of his truck.
Now, the wind picks up and sends
garbage blowing down the street: newspapers; discarded Christmas
cards; empty cans and plastic milk jugs. As it blows past, I wrestle
with myself, part of me saying I ought to pick up the trash, the
other part saying it does not belong to me. It is not my
responsibility.
I claim no innocence in this tossing.
My cans, too, overflow with the stuff of life and of death. Plastic
bags of dog waste, neatly knotted. Tissues. A bathroom sink.
Opportunity. Costs.
Trash day reminds me of all we have
purchased to make our lives simple; to entertain ourselves and to
distract our children. We buy to fill ourselves up and end up empty.
Trash day reminds me of that we have
wasted; all we have willingly thrown away.
I"m amazed at what people throw out, especially toys; that stuff could be reused but people are lazy. I miss about NYC picking through trash. Eeryone did it and took great stuff home. in the burbs, you look like a scavenger.
ReplyDeleteNice piece of writing, here. I look forward to reading more. And, yes, so much waste we humans create.
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ReplyDeleteWat a thought-provoking post. On the other hand, what about the stuff we don't wear, use, read, even look at that we can't bear to throw away?
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of all the things that we consume and throw away and where it all goes, it makes me think of Wall-E and the heaps and heaps of trash that consumed the earth.
ReplyDeleteHumans and their toys ~ it's a frightening road to be on with a not so great end..
I am removing one thing from my house every day for the year -- most of it going to charitable organizations... some... into the trash. It is hard to get rid of stuff!
ReplyDeleteBEautiful writing.
Nice bit of social commentary. Makes you stop and think about all our "Stuff" and I would have to plead guilty!
ReplyDeleteThis was beautifully written, and reverberates with a subtle truth all of us are unwilling or unable to see.
ReplyDeleteI nominated you for a Liebster Award!
http://yourpredefinedtaste.blogspot.com/2013/01/liebster-award-late-to-party.html
ugh. it always makes me sad to see how much we throw away and i remember how important i thought it was to buy something AT THE TIME. i've been trying not to impulse buy as much. thanks for the reminder!
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