dumpster pick ups

[Juan Cruz]

I pity the fool who wouldn't jump at the chance to collect dumpsters in Manhattan at 3am. Well, maybe you wouldn't have to be a fool to turn it down.. but I couldn't.

A guy who comes to our church does it and he invited me. He drove 75 mph in Manhattan in a big truck in the snow and ignored all traffic safety indicators... you know, like red lights and such.

I discovered it was a surprising intellectual exercise. He had to plan carefully to be most efficient. He would leave dumpsters places temporarily and strategically to come back for them later - depending on many other factors -E.g. what Clubs close at what hour & when forklift operators are busiest at South Seaport etc. He was on the phone constantly asking an older, more experienced guy's advice.

He took a big plastic crouching lion from in front of a restaurant (it was in his truck's way) and threw it into a dumpster in front of about a dozen bar patrons and employeess who watched, like me, in disbelief.

There's a whole world of gentlemen who push garbage around with front-end loaders at dumps and transfer stations all night surrounding NYC. I saw a mountain of Hefties Draw-tite bags at the Essex County (Newark, NJ) Incinerator that rendered me speechless.

They've got a grappling-hook-like-thing that picks up enough trash with every bite to fill a big truck. Get the picture of the scale of these operations?

More people are handling the Big Apple's trash on any night (7 nights a week) than live in a small city. It's Dante-esque. "I had not known that death had undone so many." Picture those underground-dweller-guys in Lord of the Rings movies.

Jealous now?

HE:

- drank bottled water

- knew the lyrics to every song in 107.2 WNEW's mix,

- peed outdoors, but out of the wind.

-was pretty stressed about other vehicles not giving him the right of way in every situation, rightly or wrongly.

-was able to "parallel park" a big dumpster into a parking space on 19th street by tapping and pushing it with the truck in the space of about 3 minutes.

-wished he had a nicer truck

-got home to his cat about 8am. (started at 10pm. things went wrong)

-communicated by hand signals with dump workers.

-took cares not to track garbage juice into his truck cab (pieces of cardboard to wipe our feet on)

-told me his life story (every disadvantage you can think of, practically)

-comes to church every Sunday (after spending his night off, Sat., in bars lookng for real love)

[mj412]

This is a great post!!!

I love the study of how people and things and situations happen in real life!!

how very very cool!

it is storys like these that help me know we are all in the same ship of being together in this thing called LIFE!

Who is going to complain about the Lion exactly? HMM? the worst nightmare any community(much less major city) would want happen is a trash removal strike. We had the hospital sanitation workers threaten a strike here CAN YOU IMAGINE what that would look like in just a few hours ??? they got every thing the union demanded before it was time to walk. heee haa power in insifnificat places much?

[George Aar]

"He drove 75 mph in Manhattan in a big truck in the snow and ignored all traffic safety indicators"

Gosh, sounds like somebody else I know (except he didn't drive that slow)... :D-->

[vickles]

George, don't tell me it was you

Well, I think I could see your wife doing it....lmao... :D-->

[pawtucket]

It wasn't Geo. We were in the back seat singing "Feeling Groovy"

[excathedra]

my last time riding in a cab with my 2 sisters, i had a major panic attack. they told me to quit watching. i was hysterical like when you laugh and cry but you're not sure which you're doing

after he let us out my sister told me that every time he passed one of his temples or house of worship, he closed his eyes and bowed his head while speeding

i didn't even know this when i was freaking out

**

juan beautiful story. give the guy my love when you see him at church

[vickles]

Paw, you were in the back seat with george???

[vickles]

and you were feeling groovy?... :P-->

[WordWolf]

At 75 mph in MANHATTAN on the straightaways, he would have to run red

lights or be sideswiping cars on the FDR Drive.

I'll buy he was going fast, but 75 in a truck SHOULD and WOULD get you

arrested. There was a news item about such a truck making an unsafe

turn at speed in a residential area, and turning a kid into a memory, in

JANUARY.

Furthermore, WNEW is 102.7, not 107.2...

It USED to be a successful rock-and-roll station (and a rock legend) until

some fool changed it to talk a few years ago. Now they changed it again

because that didn't work, and I don't know WHAT the playlist is.

[Juan Cruz]

Wordwolf,

I accept both corrections. My adventure needs no exaggeration in my memory or the telling.

I noticed the speedometer over 70 numerous times just outside Manhattan (e.g. Lincoln tunnel and heading out to JFK airport) not IN Manhattan. On descents downtown (7th avenue once, and an eastern avenue once) I saw the speedometer over 60. The snow (and his lack of windshield washer fluid - did I mention THAT!?) made it harrowing. I ruined more than just a pair of winter gloves. lol

Manhattan is a different place at 3:30 a.m. - by no means empty, but quieter. He verbally distained folk crossing against lights and cars pulling into his lane slowing him down. I made a mental note to give more space to trucks (they might be on a mission from God). This guy IS an accident waiting to happen.

He did run red lights wherever he thought he could semi-safely.

Yes, to WNEW, my teen years station. Its recent history is all too metaphoric for current American society in general, si'?

[excathedra]

glad we got that straightened out

[Linda Z]

Juan, interesting slice of life, for sure!

I've seen documentaries about all the people who work late at night in cities, but they never highlighted dumpster picker-uppers. I hope they don't accidentally pick up any dumpster divers!

Derail alert! Hmmm, maybe not. It's sorta about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride:

Exsie, I'm with you on the speeding taxi thing. I'd rather take a bus or a train, where I can't really see what's going on, than to be dashing through busy traffic in a big city with some guy driving who speaks no English and probably just arrived in this country a week earlier. It really freaks me out.

So far, Washington, DC, is the worst for taxi drivers. I take the Metro everywhere I can when I go there for this very reason!

The all-time worst ride was in Atlanta, though. The taxi driver looked a few days short of 100. He had several bottles of his pills on the front seat beside him. And we had to go on the freeway. (shudder) When he drifted off onto the shoulder at about 80 mph, I grabbed my boss's arm and didn't let go till we got to the airport!

[Jim]

At first I thought it was a story about going around scavenging things out of dumpsters which, of course, I would have been very interested to read. Still a great story.

[Second James]

Me too Jim....as I've had some pretty interesting stories show up in my life...especially right after my divorce a few years back, where "dumpster diving" turned out to be a pretty Godly blessing...ah the stories I could tell...LOL JJ