Almost more fun than my childhood trips to the local cheese factory were our trips to the Dump.
Whenever my Dad would mow the lawn, he would gather up all his glass clippings in big garbage bags, and load them in our Dodge Ram van.
And then came the exciting part. Our visit to the Dump. The Dump, as we called it, was basically a huge hole in the ground where people dumped their garbage. I guess they call them landfills now. I always felt special as I sat in the front seat next to my Dad as we took our 10-minute trip to the Dump.
When we got there, there was a gate blocking off the driveway to the Dump, and my Dad would get out and take a key out of his pocket to unlock the gate. I don’t know why he was so special to have a key to this amazing place, but I was little and just assumed that my Dad had all the keys to everything. He was like Superman to me.
And finally, we drove around to the Dump. We got out of the van, and as my Dad unloaded the bags of grass clippings, I stared at all the weird things that people threw away. I remember being so amazed at the furniture that people threw away. I vividly remember one time when I saw a pea-green living room chair that someone threw away. Why did they throw that away?, I thought. In my little five-year-old brain, I couldn’t fathom why on earth someone would ever throw away a chair. And then there was the funny stuff sometimes, like a cracked toilet seat. Sometimes my sister would come along, too, and we’d laugh and laugh at the weird stuff we’d see.
And then, it was time to go home.
But I have never forgotten our trips to the Dump. It was about as exciting a place as you could go when you were growing up in rural Wisconsin.
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4 comments:
to this day I still love going to the dump... the only thing that has changed is that they now have recycling dumpsters alongside the big hole in the earth...
When I went with my dad to the dump we always saw this lady there down deep digging through the garbage collecting UPC codes to send in for rebates... seriously!
On our trips to Mackinac, we used to visit the dump. We would go in the evening just before sunset. Then the bears would come to feed on what people threw away. We would sit in the van and watch the bears until it was too dark to see them. They were soooo cute. I could never figure out why people would be afraid of bears....
The Dump is part of our current reality in Rural GA. The county does not provide trash pick-up. Every few days we load-up and take the garbage to the dump - more like dumpsters.
But I am bother by the backward recycling we have. Apparently, they have not noticed the little numbers on the plastic containers. They don't separate them and only take a few types. In Des Plaines they recycled more.
Diane, I can't believe you still go to the dump! *smiles* And I can't believe that lady dug through garbage for UPS codes! Ewww! :)
Anonymous--I wish I could watch bears in the wild from a SAFE distance like you did! How cool! :)
Mathman--that's what you get for living in rural GA! *grin*
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