I DID NOT WANT TO PICK UP TRASH TONIGHT!

 

I did not want to pick up trash tonight.  Last night was so hot, but I didn't have a good reason not to, so I went out.  

The first area was clean.  The second area was also clean.  The third area was Lover's Lane & Brown, almost always in need of attention.  

So I parked my car, dragging a little, and then I saw these sweet little boys with their trash grabber and bucket, the items I gave their mother last summer!  

What a joy to see them greet me like that!  

They cleaned this whole corner, and I headed to the other end.

I love little helpers!

At the other end, the bushes were recently cut back to reveal all the trash there.  What a big mess! 

I started picking up all this trash the way I always do, one piece at a time, and all of a sudden, I heard such a ruckus!  There was a young man on a bicycle up by the taco truck crying and wailing.  I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it was very scary.  Everybody in the parking lot just stopped and stared.

I didn't know what to do, but I was afraid for all the people watching.  He was out of control.  So I called 911, and the Akron Police answered.  I said, "I'm at the corner of Lover's Lane & Brown, and there's a young man on a bicycle who seems to be in a lot of distress.  He's crying and yelling.  I think we need an officer to come see what's wrong with him before somebody gets hurt."

So I hung up, and continued cleaning this mess, but I kept an eye on the boy.  And then he rode his bicycle right toward me!  When he got a few feet from me, he got off, threw his bike down and came really close to me.  He yelled in my face, "I don't want this brain!  I can't stand it!  I am going to give my brain to you!"

Yikes!  I had no words.  

Then he started crying again and was incomprehensible.  I continued picking up trash, and he got on his bike and rode it across the street to the Circle K and was still yelling and crying over there.

I cleaned all the trash up and lingered around the parking lot, waiting for the police.  They never showed up.  (Maybe I should have called 912?  911 didn't seem to do anything.)

While I was waiting for the police, I went over to my favorite dumpster, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  LOCKED?  Now what?

I told my councilman that the dumpsters should be locked so the homeless people couldn't pull trash bags out and scatter the garbage, but fine time to listen to me!  I need this dumpster!  I usually empty my trash bag four or five times when I'm cleaning this area.

The sweet woman who works at the convenient store saw me and came running out with a key.  She unlocked the gate and let me empty my trash bag.  How amazing is that?

Still thinking the police officers were going to come, I cleaned around the taco truck and headed west on Lover's Lane where I could see if they showed up.

I had to laugh at the Godfather's pizza boxes in the bushes!  My goodness!  Such creativity!  I'm impressed!

I picked up 2,086 pieces of trash in this area, and when I was walking back up Lover's Lane, I saw these pretty flowers growing along the edge of the sidewalk.  Have you ever seen such pretty weeds?

I've been trying to learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons with my two youngest sons, Michael & Jason, and since I'm a Druid and I have the power to make flowers grow anywhere, I think I'll make flowers just like these grow in the cave we're exploring.  That will be so fun!

It's crazy that I didn't want to go out tonight . . . and it was one of the best nights yet!