NOT A TYPICAL NIGHT! (OR MAYBE IT WAS.)

 

Tonight was not a typical night!  Or maybe it was.  I never know what will happen when I go out, especially when I cover a big area.

I saw beer cans in the football field, so I parked beside it and picked up and smashed all of those.  Then I crossed the street to the car wash, because I told the owner I would clean around his building every Saturday.  

I found this thing, not sure what kind of plumbing it is, but it was on the street beside his building. 

And I found this giant nail/screw in his parking lot!  Can you imagine coming in for a car wash and going out with a flat tire?  That would not be good.

Even though his employees pick up trash between customers, I still picked up 127 pieces around his building.  I told him I was going to clean Wilbeth Road from Route 8 to Arlington.  It's big.  I've never done all that in one day before.

And it was so hot, sweat was dripping off my chin, but I had plenty of water with me. 

All this glass was on the sidewalk at the next light before the freeway.  I picked all that up, and continued west on Wilbeth.

A car, waiting at the light beeped it's horn.  I smiled and waved.  I'm used to people beeping at me.  The driver motioned that she wanted in the driveway where I was picking up trash.

I felt completely stupid, but still, couldn't she have waited a second?  Maybe not.  Maybe she was in a hurry, because ice cream in her car was melting.  Who knows. 

I continued to the exit ramp from Route 8 to Wilbeth Road.  What a big mess!  There's no panhandler here now, but people still throw their trash out the window.

I got it all cleaned up, and I found all kinds of dangerous things at this intersection . . .

I found a rusty putty knife.

I found a big rusty drill bit.  (Is that what it's called?)

I found this rusty hook thing.

And I found all these screws and nails at that exit ramp!  

People who are anxious to get where they're going, and ALWAYS TURN RIGHT ON RED, even though there's a sign that says "NO RIGHT ON RED," have no idea how lucky they are to get through this area without significant damage.

So I'm trying to figure out how far I'm going to get before my timer goes off, and I see this big piece of cardboard, way far from the dumpster.

Of course I can't leave it there, so I dragged it back to the dumpster, and that put me behind even more. 

Then I took my bucket and walked down this street to pick up the few pieces of trash I could see, and look at this mess!  And look where my cart is!

Crap!  I had to walk back to my trash cart to come pick up all these bottles and cans.  

This street was as far as I got before my timer went off, so I'll do the rest tomorrow.  

I headed back to my car, and I was picking up trash on the sidewalk on Wilbeth, and I heard a door slam really hard.  I looked up and a guy was getting into a vehicle that was parked in the grass.  A woman came running outside and told me to call 911!  The guy put the vehicle in reverse, and I was afraid he was going to run over her, but she got out of the way, and off he went.

I handed her my phone, and she called 911, and told the dispatcher, "My boyfriend just choked me, beat me, stole my phone, stole my car, and he has a gun."

Oh boy.  This is not something I wanted involved in.  I left when she was finished with the call, and the police were there when I drove by.

I picked up 2,314 pieces of trash tonight, and it was a really good night until the last event. I guess I'm glad I was there so she could use my phone.