POKER ANYONE?

 

Oh my goodness!  What a fun night!  Every day is a new adventure picking up trash.  I ever know who I'll meet or what I'll find.  

I picked up 1,782 pieces tonight from the football field to the freeway.  Along with a whole bunch of houses, it includes a bank, a laundromat, an event center, a convenience store, a car wash, an oil change place, a Dairy Queen, and an apartment complex.  I figure at least 60 cars pass me every minute.  That's 3,600 cars per hour.  Over 7,000 people per two-hour session on Wilbeth Road see me picking up trash.

I found playing cards.  I'm sure I picked up all 52 over the mile I cleaned.  They were scattered so nicely that I wonder if someone did that on purpose.

Focusing on Wilbeth Road is such a great idea.  I don't know how many people honked their horns at me tonight, but there were a lot.  

I parked at the PNC Bank and walked up to the freeway, finished cleaning what I didn't get done yesterday on the northbound exit ramp from Route 8, and then crossed the street to clean the other side.  

The second house from the freeway gets a lot of trash thrown in their yard.  I was cleaning it up, and a car stopped at the stop sign and just sat there.  Finally, a young woman got out and came over to me and said she sees me all the time, and she gave me some dollars.  I thanked her and told her about my blog, 

And later when I looked at the dollars, there was a ten in there!  How generous is that?

I buy all my trash bags.  My trash cart wheels are wobbling, and my heavy duty trash can is cracked, so I really appreciate people helping me as a gesture of their appreciation for what I'm trying to do.

I was still thinking about how sweet that lady was, and I found the King I needed for my Poker hand!

The trash I'm picking up on Wilbeth Road is not gross.  No poopy baby diapers, no needles, no half eaten food.  Mostly, I'm picking up Dairy Queen items, like cups and straws.  

It's a nice change of pace.

I cleaned under the picnic table, outside the convenience store, and I think somebody has been trying to keep it clean.  There wasn't a lot under it this time.

I was picking up trash around the bus stop at Inman & Wilbeth, and a very nice older man walked up to me.  He said "In the 40 years my wife and I have lived here, I've never seen anyone picking up trash on Wilbeth Road.  Do you work for the City of Akron?"

I told him my whole story, and he just glowed.  He was so fun to talk to.  I told him to pay attention when he drives down Wilbeth Road.  He'll see a big difference now.  And then I pointed out the new Party Center across the street.  I told him, "The new owners must not be from Akron.  They keep their parking lot spotless."

I think the people who have lived in Akron for a long time have gotten used to the trash.  It's just part of decor.  "Nothing we can do about it."  Well think again!  There's a lot we can do about it!

I crossed the street to the football field, and sure enough, more beer cans.  I took off the caps, placed them on the sidewalk, and squished them.

Then I glanced over at the street, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  I wasn't sure if it was a twig, or a piece of BARBED WIRE!  

It was barbed wire . . . on the road!  Can you imagine running over that with your car? Or getting it tangled up in a bicycle wheel?

This was one of those moments when I was so proud of myself for picking up trash.

Every day I do something to keep my neighborhood safe.