In Praise of Garbagemen

A neighbor writes a mommy blog, and I wanted to share a little bit of it this morning. She is writing in praise of her garbagemen.

Suddenly, the garbage truck (that has now reached the end of the block) changes direction and backs all the way up to us. ”They’re coming back!” exclaims one of my neighbors. And sure enough, it seems that they are. Two guys jump off the back of the truck, smile at me, empty my cans into the back of the truck , and put them back for me. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I almost started to cry out of gratitude. I thanked them and thought about how unnecessary their act of kindness was – and of how much grander it was because of that fact.

As they pulled away, I turned to my neighbors and said, “I love our garbage truck guys!” We all agreed, sharing similar stories of the above-and-beyond actions that they routinely demonstrate.

I don’t know what they’re like in your neighborhood, but over here in Leesburg, Virginia – they’re amazing! They’re friendly and courteous, accommodating and professional. They haul away everything that they can and they do it all cleanly and efficiently. I really just can’t say enough good things about them. - Did You Remember Your Pill Today?

The people who actually make our modern society run don't get enough credit, so I wanted to amplify this. Thank you to the garbagemen, and the VDOT crews, and the Leesburg water staff. Thank you to all the people who go to work, every day, making sure that the infrastructure of modern life is doing it's job, even as we quibble and argue over the budgets that are their lifeblood.

Thank you.