UNDER THE OVERPASS

This is one of those “special” places I have to visit from time to time as a grimefighter and garbage man. We don’t have a lot of overpasses in our city thank goodness, but let me tell you the ones that we do have ones I don’t generally forget.

Under the overpass is this place where too often you find some of the most disgusting stuff. Where did the idea come that when a person was tooling on an overpass it was a good idea to toss your garbage so it lands under the thing?

Have these jerks no shame? Do they really think for one second they are fooling anybody by trying to use that spot as a dump? I tell you it is absolutely disgraceful behavior.

But I’m not one to ignore this need. That means that every once and a while Otis and I take a trip over to this spot and do our part to clean it up. Sometimes it does take a while, others not so long.

For me this is just part of our job. Something we do without boasting about it to help fight the problem of filth and grime. I’m always glad when it is done and we can reward ourselves with some cool refreshment or other form of entertainment.

I just wish my buddy Otis didn’t use these outings to get on philosophical and start rambling about so-called “deeper significance of the discards we find.” I’ll be wandering around with a trash bag and collecting the crap and generally end up sweating like a pig.

Meanwhile my buddy will be talking non-stop about how each piece of litter has a story to tell. And he’ll pick up one at a time and then start talking out loud about what he thinks the history of that piece of litter might be.

Now if that wasn’t bad enough, then he’ll get all jazzed about talking regards how this one little piece of paper is reflecting of the general spiritual decay of society. All I know it is a piece of garbage that is better off in a trash bag. I don’t really want to think about the idea of how one candy wrapper is some “symbolic harbinger of impending demise of our cherished social entity.”

Heck I’m not even sure what all that means other than the fact that Otis spends way too much talking and not enough picking up garbage. However I do put up with that since afterwards he does at least make sure we get something decent to eat. And I normally get to pick out the place. I think he does that in part because he feels guilty for slacking off on the labor part, but he calls it acknowledging my identity.

In any case under the overpass is just another episode of life I’ve learned to accept as one of those things we will get around too sooner or later. Sometimes I’m grateful that it is later and then there are other times when we are in some cool fast food burger joint afterwards when I don’t mind as much. Here’s hoping that at least you don’t feel the urge to use any overpass as a trash can so it makes my life harder.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "Happy is a good feeling. But being that way without a need for drugs means you won't regret it when they wear off."