Tag: Writing

Posted in Sunshine and Happiness

Trash Talk Part II

Posted on by Part-Time Sunshine

CONTINUED from previous post: Trash Talk

Speaking of replacements, I had to order a new garbage bin because the attached lid broke.


Unhinged, it could no longer cover odors or prevent dumpster diving raccoons. These bins put up with a lot of abuse, getting banged up, flipped over, and thrown down, so I’m surprised mine stayed intact for nearly twenty years.

Too bad more things weren’t built to last as long as today’s heavy-duty polyethylene trash bin. I have appliances with the lifespan of a mayfly.

The sanitation company customer service rep instructed me to put my broken bin in a visible spot for the broken bin collector (not Wil or Joe) who should exchange it within 72-hours.

That meant I had to take it away from its private, shady spot against the garage and leave it at the top of the driveway during a heat wave. As long as the bin was collected in three days, I wouldn’t have to put my kitchen, bathroom, and basement trash out.

Here’s the thing. I am embarrassed of my smelly trash. I can air out dirty laundry with stains but dirty trash… NOPE! And it accumulates quickly here. We are homebodies and eat three meals a day which means there’s a heap of scraps and shells that aren’t meant for composting.

The week (not three days) that my trash bin had to wallow in stench in front of the whole hood, we had shrimp and crab legs. Holy mackerel! Mix that in with bags of dog doo, vacuum dirt, and chicken wing bones and you have one putrid trash can. Poor trashed thing stood up there scorched in humiliation like Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. Oh the public scorn.

And to think of the stink affecting my neighbors. I mean, by day five, it smelled like a toxic soup, at least it did to my sensitive nostrils that became cursed after my pregnancies. Try teaching in a middle school with such a staunch sniffer.

What if those young bike riders passed my driveway and wrecked from the reek? What if a meditating walker took a whiff instead of a breath and passed out on my lawn? Should I put a canopy over the VISIBLE trash bin and stop it from boiling? Should I spray it with Febreeze? Should I lure a skunk over with apples (do they like apples?) and get it to spray my can so everyone smells the skunk instead of my rotting junk?

I kept calling the sanitation department to check on the status of my order. “We apologize for the delay, but someone will be there soon to fulfill your exchange. If you want to talk to an actual operator, please hold on until your trash further ferments in fumes.” Did I seriously hear that? C’mon.

Finally, the new can arrived, the afternoon AFTER garbage day, so One L Wil and his helper emptied the broken bin and left it for the very late broken-bin collector.

Phew! Special delivery: The Gift that Keeps on Taking (but is best left in the shade).

Sing it with me now:

95-gallons of trash to be hauled
95-gallons of trash…
You take it all out
For the trash truck route
95-gallons of trash to be hauled

Posted in Sunshine and Happiness

Trash Talk 

Posted on by Part-Time Sunshine

I am a Superfan of Garbage Day. Are you? 

For a small service fee, our garbage collectors stop at the top of my driveway in all weather every single Wednesday to remove our household scraps, junk, and muck. For me, it’s a weekly cleansing opportunity. 

I love taking out the trash. The fresh air and extra steps offer a literal and metaphoric chance to lift my arms of litter and make a difference by getting rid of the sour, the slimy, and the useless. 

In the short span of a week, a lot can pile up, so I’m thrilled to fill my big brown garbage bin to the brim. Do you fill your bin to the brim? Is there a weight limit, you ask? Most residential trucks can lift 300-800 pounds of trash from the standard 95-gallon bin. How do I know this, you wonder? 

Recently. I had the pleasure to take my old garbage man Wil for a walk. I hadn’t seen him in years, since my early morning running days. I knew he still cleaned up my neighborhood though because every December, he sealed his Christmas card in a plastic bag taped to the bin lid. I send one back in the recycled bag with a little Christmas bonus that I make out to One-L-Wil. It’s a cool way to exchange season’s greetings and gratitude. 

So last month, while walking my dogs before work on a Wednesday, Wil and his new helper Joe, came down the hill screeching to a hault. While Joe dumped Mrs. Martin’s trash with an automatic hydraulic side-arm mechanism called a grabber, Wil hopped out of the truck to say hello. We stood and chatted, him shooting the breeze, talking about the weather and our sore knees. 

I said, “I’m a walker now. No more running.”

Wil said, “I walk here and there.” 

“Yeah, I need to finish and go to work.”

“How much further?” Wil asked. 

“The dogs and I have six more minutes.” With that, Wil, in his fluorescent vest, waved off Joe to grab a few more cans to walk down the hill with us. 

We briefed each other about our work, dogs, and recent loss of our mothers. No politics, no religion, no gossip about the neighbors. Just good old trash talk. Joe picked him up at the cul de sac. Sending good thoughts to Wil on his upcoming knee replacements. 

Speaking of replacements, I had to order a new garbage bin because the attached lid broke. 

TO BE CONTINUED…

Posted in Inspiration, Writing

Don’t Give Up: Try, Try Again

Posted on by Part-Time Sunshine

Hi friends. I was having, uh, some technical difficulties, so I took a bit of a break from blogging.

Whoa! Over two years later and that’s my lame excuse? Technical difficulties? Let me try again. Since the Coronavirus starting spread death, disease, and despair all over the spring of 2020, I have a new slew of excuses of why I could not, would not post a blog. Not with a moose. Not with a dog. Essentially, I gave up on writing. Dammit Donna!

You know, I still can’t get these words right, but I’m going to keep trying until I complete this attempted comeback piece. I want to stick with creativity, and although it’s really hard to put myself back out there, I must. I promised myself I would today after teaching summer school to the many students who worked to recover credits from one of the toughest years in education worldwide. If these kids could try, try again and follow through, then I had to prove that I could as well. What kind of teacher would I be to quit trying?

Eventually, I’ll share stories of what I’ve been up to and how I’ve strived to survive and thrive during the Covid Pandemic, but for now I rather offer a few brief, silly videos of how hard it can be to succeed at giving up.

About ten years ago, some friends and I took a women’s self-defense class at Flying Tigers, a local martial arts school. The class culminated with Master Anton giving us moms a chance to break a board, as our children did in Flying Tigers Tae Kwon Do classes.

Board breaking is a martial arts hallmark to show confidence, technique, speed, and focus. I lacked these things when it came to splitting that pine, and more recently, when writing blogs, essays, and short stories. In both activities, I stopped short of the victory of completion.

Turn up your volume to hear the many lessons and laughs that broke out that day filled with patience, persistence, and support.

Magic can only be found within.
Why oh why do I keep getting in my own way?
1-2-3. I gotta be done with this!

If you are struggling right now, quit quitting. Keep moving and grooving, change things up, find support, hone your skills, and surprise yourself with opening up a day of treasures. If you have a heart of hope, share it. Shine on!

I look forward to writing more, reaching out, and connecting with you. Contact and follow here for more Sunshine (and a chance of Dammit Donna).

Let’s end with some extra motivation found in the The Teacher’s Manual by Thomas H. Palmer: 

Try, Try Again
 
’Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don’t succeed,
     Try, try again;
Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
     Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
     Try, try again;
If we strive, ‘tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
     Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
     Try, try again
All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
     Try, try again.