TONIGHT WAS THE NIGHT FOR BROKEN GLASS AND MEETING NICE PEOPLE

 

After a very hard week, instead of getting in my car, I landed on the couch with my dogs.  

I didn't think I'd pick up trash tonight, but after an hour nap, I was ready to enjoy the beautiful weather.

I picked up hundreds of pieces of trash in this field.  Look how great it looks from Wilbeth Road when it's all clean. 

And I found so much broken glass tonight.  This broken liquor bottle was hiding in the grass where people walk and children play.  Imagine falling on that!

I just don't understand the mentality of people who throw glass bottles in the grass.  The sidewalk?  I get that.  It explodes and makes the spineless person feel powerful.  But grass?  

Maybe it missed the sidewalk and accidentally landed in the grass, but I don't think so.  Some people are just mean.  They want to hurt innocent people.

Not on my watch. 

At the corner of Virginia & Wilbeth, I saw this cluster of trash driving by. 

This is so interesting to me.

There's only 14 pieces of trash here, and I saw it from the road as I drove by.  Imagine how 1,073 pieces would look, which is what I picked up in just an hour tonight.  

If I had it all in one pile, it would be a massive pile!  Wow. 

I found this on Wilbeth Road.  I had to wait for traffic, and I walked out onto the road to pick it up.  

I don't know what it's called, but I'm pretty sure it's the thing that holds the tire on the wheel.  Am I right?  So somebody is speeding down the road with a wheel about to fall off?  That's pretty scary.

And I'm thinking if a car or truck hit this metal object just right, it could shoot into the air like a bullet and hit someone.  Wow.  That's pretty scary too.

I made a new kitty cat friend.  She liked watching me, but she didn't want me to pet her.  

And this is pretty funny.  

I was almost back to my car, and I saw a Styrofoam cup and some condiment packets underneath a car.  

How I saw that, I have no idea, but I did.  

I had to get down on my hands and knees to get it.  Thank goodness I have a trash grabber.

Earlier, I was talking to a delightful young man who manages the maintenance crew at Wilbeth & Arlington.  I've been cleaning this area for years, and he said he has been noticing me.  

What a joy to talk to someone who has the same passion for this area as I do.  I told him together we can keep this property clean and safe for the residents who are all so nice to me, especially the children.

He said he wanted to give me some money to help pay for my supplies.  So he went to his car and gave me this stack of ones.  I said, "Thank you so much!"

But they weren't all ones!  I didn't see there was a $20 in the middle until I got home.  

Picking up trash has never been about money for me, and everybody knows that, but when someone gives me a few dollars, they are saying, "I appreciate you and what you're doing."  There's no better feeling than that.

I'm really happy that I'm so close to being on track with my two million piece goal by next summer.   

I needed to be at 125,000 on July 31, and I was at 122,540.  

I can do this!