I WAS SO ANGRY TONIGHT!!!

 

I was so angry tonight!  I'll tell you why in a minute.  

I met so many super nice people tonight.  A group of young men yelled, "Thank you for your service!"  And I asked them if they saw me on TV.  This guy did.  He came running down onto the sidewalk and asked if he could get a picture with me.

"Of course!"  How fun is that! 

But here's why I was so angry.  

I was headed to the Exit Ramp from I-76 to Arlington Road.  I haven't been there for a while.  And on my way, I thought I'd drive by where the disgusting dog cage was.  I reported it to the City of Akron last week.

I received an email today that said the service request had been completed.  

I reported a dog cage with the tray filled with dog poop on the grass at Lover's Lane & Brown.  It was right before the bus stop and across the street from a big church.

It was too big for me to pick up.  Very rarely do I ask for help, but I needed help with this one. 

So as I drove north on Brown, I saw the dog cage!!!  It was still there in the grass across from the church!  Still stinking up the neighborhood!

I totally get that the men who came to clean this up probably said, "Whoa!  I don't get paid enough to clean up a mess like this!"  I get that.  

The part that made me angry was that they told me they completed the job!  When I say I'm going to do something, or if I tell someone I did something, I am true to my word.

The City is getting an email from me tonight!  I'm going to find out why they told me they did something when they didn't.  Did they think I wouldn't check? 

So I stomped south on Brown.  But after picking up 2,416 pieces of trash in three hours, I settled down.  I'm not angry anymore.

I picked up over a thousand pieces of trash in this field.  It seemed neverending.  And when I got to the corner, I followed the trash trail up the side street.  There was an older couple sitting on their front porch, and they watched me pick up trash as I walked by their house.  Then they watched me pick up trash as I walked down the other side of the street, picking up broken glass.

The man yelled, "Do you work for the City?"  I crossed the street and stepped up on their porch.  I told them my story.  The lady had a cell phone so I sent the Channel 3 story to her.  It wouldn't open, so I stood there and watched it with them as they ooed and awed.  

It was so much fun! What a delightful couple!

I went back and finished the field.  Wow!  It looks so good now!

And I found this piece of metal on the road.  No idea what it is, but it was heavy and sharp.

And I found this giant nail with a hook on the end, also on the road.

Not all the pieces of trash were small.  I found this big piece of plastic.  It just about filled my trash bag!

And when I got to Cole, there was a collection of trash.  What a variety!  Pop cans, lighters, hangers, a hair net, underwear . . . Wow!

I was almost back to my car, and my bag was stuffed, and as usual, I found a bunch of trash at this stop sign.  

I got it all cleaned up and even pulled a few weeds!

I met the nicest people tonight.  I need to pick up trash on residential streets more.  I love meeting people, and they are always so nice.  

Now I have the Channel 3 story on my phone to share.  I think people can relate to why I pick up trash, and I also think a lot more people will join in now.

What a great night!  The area I cleaned looks so good now.