Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Flotsam and Jetsam of Spring Junk Day




It did not come early like the Groundhog predicted back in February, and the doom and gloom Severe Weather Storm Team TV people breathlessly say there will be more snow, but nevertheless, Spring is here!




Time to put away the sweaters, find the window screens, and participate in the ritual of Spring Cleaning. There used to be a Junk Day in my small town-- and it was one of the biggest events of the year. You could take literally EVERYTHING out to the curb for pickup. I spotted water heaters, mattresses, and quite literally the kitchen sink out there.



Then for WEEKS, scavengers in their beat up trucks would traverse the neighborhood late at night gathering what they could, like beachcomers carrying off flotsam and jetsam that washed up in the tide. Later on, city workers hoisted whatever remained into their trucks for removal to the landfill.


Junk Day is a thing of the past now. The city says it is too hard on the trucks, there is too much money spent for overtime, and too much potential for worker's comp claims caused by bad backs from lifting all that junk.




Oh well, there's always the summer yard sales to look forward to.

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