DID YOU EVER WONDER HOW THAT GARBAGE IS COLLECTED?

Watching a commercial dumpster being emptied was fascinating. On a whim, I decided to follow the garbage truck to the next dumpster to take a video for my family’s WhatsApp group.

I wanted our children to show the video to our five grandchildren, ages seven and under. Maybe it’s something they’ve seen before, but possibly not. Did they ever wonder about the disposal process?

Almost like a big hug, the truck extracted its large “arms” to slide into the well-designed metal pieces on the sides of the huge dumpsters. Something like the bear hugs we give our grandchildren, the bars snugly lifted the full dumpsters. They were then tossed like a backward tumblesault, causing their soft rubber cover flaps to sway, as the garbage cascaded out of the bins into the monstrous truck.  

In my 72 years of experience, I have never before seen a commercial dumpster emptied. I thought of it as a teaching experience for our grandchildren in Ohio and California. Is that something on your bucket list? Did you ever share the experience?

My husband, Arnee, represented the sanitation workers in New Jersey. Maybe that’s part of my fascination. Memories surface of the times we spent with those union officials in a particular restaurant in New York’s Little Italy, especially the time we were at a big bash the night before the union president was sent off to “do time.”

My father-in-law’s brother was a member of the sanitation workers’ union. We came home from seeing a movie about the International Teamsters Union President, Jimmy Hoffa, the night before his passing. We called Uncle Harold to tell him about the movie and get his impression. While his body was withering, our exuberance had him engaged in the conversation.

A recent conversation with our nephew Devin, a new union member, sparked a discussion about unions, during which we shared those stories and more. We told him about his uncle’s work representing unions and that the night before, we had just attended his 50th reunion since his Rutgers Law School graduation. When asked at the event to tell about what he’s done since graduation, Arnee relayed a story about his neighborhood.

He started by saying that he was raised in a working-class neighborhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where many of the neighbors were Catholic. Pictures of the Pope and President Kennedy hung on their walls, whereas in Arnee’s house, there was a picture of Jimmy Hoffa.

Devin is sure to enjoy this blog post. Possibly, our children will learn something they didn’t know, or it will refresh their memories. Most gratifyingly, our grandchildren will know more about their ancestry. I encourage you to write your stories.