God Bless the Trash Haulers
Stuff I don't hate July 21st, 2008
WARNING: This post is disgusting. Come back later if you are repulsed by vomiting. I’m sure those in the medical profession (or the parents among you) have seen it all, so you’re probably safe.
Yesterday I did something I’ve never done before. I threw up from smelling garbage. Yeah, fun.
I took a full kitchen trash bag to the garage and when I lifted the lid to the big can, I gagged. I thought “Oh, it’s just a dry heave. No problem.”
Then the beast grabbed me by the throat and screamed “There’s steaming cat poo in this here can! Run! Run!”
I had to cover my mouth as I ran to the kitchen sink, where I let loose. Thrice. My husband thought maybe it was one of the cats coughing up a hair ball. No, dear, that was me.
I’m guessing we had a couple bags of garbage stewing in our hundred degree garage for a few days and it hadn’t escaped until just then.
All I can say is God bless the trash haulers of the world. Let us all thank them for the foul and disgusting job they do. Imagine if no one took our garbage away and it was left to rot in the baking sun. Seriously, think about it.
In recognition of the guys who pick up my trash, I have a little prayer for you.
Dear God,
Please bless and keep the trash haulers.
They do work no sane person would do.
They lug and throw and smell the funk
Whether it’s food or diapers with poo.
They ride on the truck in the wake of the smell.
They can’t get away for a minute.
If not for them taking the crap that I lay
We’d be up to our eye sockets in it.
Amen
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July 21st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Oh my! That must have been some smell! I moan because we have such miserable weather, but I suppose we have one thing to be glad of then. Our trash cans only smell like rubbish and slightly disgusting ;O)
Babs - beetle’s last blog post..Another trip down memory lane
July 21st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Where’s my avatar gone?
Babs - beetle’s last blog post..Another trip down memory lane
July 21st, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Amen !
I grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and this beautiful city of over 3 million has no such thing as a “sewer system”.
All the waste is sucked out from the septic tanks by tankers and is carried away. Most of it is used as fertilizer to keep the city’s trees and parks green and the rest is dumped into the Red Sea near the city’s port.
And if you happen to drive by that area on a humid night, the stench is unbearable and will get into your clothes and car !
Another smelly place in Jeddah is the Fish Market.
Bride of the Red-Sea indeed.
Jaffer’s last blog post..Thus speaketh I
July 21st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
That must’ve been on awful smell. On the bright side at least you didn’t get sick in the trashcan. But on the other hand I just gave you an icky visual. Sorry!
Stephanie C.’s last blog post..its close enough to a pony
July 21st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
You keep your big garbage can in the garage?
July 21st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I’d rather not take out the trash. When I do, I hold my breath, lift the lid, throw the trash in, and run before the smell catches up to me. Then I scrub my hands like Jack Nicolson in that movie where’s he’s all OCD and scrubs his hands with like 3 bars of soap…do you know what movie I’m talking about??
Anyway, I feel your pain and I’m sorry you actually threw up. But get this, how’s this for a job: http://successwithtodd.com/2008/07/06/unique-business-ideas/
Ricardo Bueno’s last blog post..Quote of the Day: words that have “meaning”
July 21st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Let some old chicken parts simmer for a week out there and you’ll get the same effect. But with a bazillion squirmy maggots for extra fun. Trust me on this one. Of know of which I speak.
Jeff’s last blog post..Calling all geeks… Calling all geeks
July 21st, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Hilarious but horrible! Reminds me of the time we left a cooler on the porch with raw ground beef in it for a few days in the middle of July. Oh, it still give me shivers to think about those maggots….
SmallWorld Reads’s last blog post..Welcome!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
JUST TOO FUNNY! Not a mommy but have had children vomit in my car. Have seen lots of things during birth. So yes this makes me LMAO!
Lauren’s last blog post..BRING IT ON!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:57 pm
what a great sense of humor! I really like your warning at the beginning, I made me even more interested::)) we’ll get back to read more of your posts! bookmarked!
Helen’s last blog post..BlogHer conference 2008 - day 2
July 21st, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I thank the wonderful trash guys every time I take the can to the curb. There are certain jobs I just won’t do and I thank those people that do
July 21st, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I don’t know how they do it. And, the guys that haul trash in my neighborhood appear quite friendly and cheerful.
feefifoto’s last blog post..My Cupcake’s Home
July 21st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
My gag reflex is non-existant so I understand completely where you are coming from. It is funny how certain things can set you off though because for me its anything rotten-smelling.
Vegas Princess’s last blog post..The Monday Blues
July 21st, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Oh no! Oh you poor thing!
Thanks, btw, for the URLs for the free photo sites you left on my blog the other day, I’ve bookmarked them!
Margaret’s last blog post..Bugs: They’re Not Just For Breakfast Anymore
July 21st, 2008 at 11:59 pm
You must have gone to catholic school….
Because that was a BEAUTIFUL prayer!
Sister Margaret Mary would be SO proud of you!
tee, hee…
Funny post, Kathy!
Ron’s last blog post..Living The Jetson’s Life
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
From one that becomes nauseous and gags at the mere suggestion of something gross…I feel your pain! My husband & I have an agreement concerning our bad-boy Boxer named Regan. I get the front half, he the back. Translation: I feed & medicate, he cleans up the yard
Mama O’s last blog post..Mother-of-the Bride
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:20 am
Babs beetle — It’s a short distance from slightly disgusting to vomit-inducing, so be careful! (And you got my emails about your gravatar. Will write you again soon.)
Jaffer — Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my. I think “sewer sucker” is a worse job than trash hauler. At least the parks must be beautiful! Oh, boy. I feel ill now. But I know I brought this on myself.
StephanieC — I didn’t want to have it happen in the trash either, because that would involve having to clean it. I just barely made it to the sink. Oh, sorry. This keeps getting grosser.
Paul Eilers — Yep. And then on trash day, the bins go to the curb, where hopefully they cool off a bit before the trash guys come. Except if it’s sunny out. Then all bets are off.
Ricardo Bueno — Oh, I scrub too! Yes, I know the movie, Something’s Gotta Give. As for the dog cleanup story, I say good for them! If they’re willing to do what others won’t, for fistfuls of money, more power to them!
Jeff — Oh, why does that sound familiar? Did you post about it? Ugh. I’m feeling rather ill again….
SmallWorld Reads — I hope once you looked inside, you just threw the whole thing away. Shivers here, too. EWWWW!
Lauren — You must have a steady stomach! Just responding to these comments has me uneasy. But, like I said, I brought this on myself. Geez, what was I thinking?
Helen — I’ve had one other WARNING on a post before. It was on a story about bugs. I try to be sympathetic to my readers, especially the ones who might be eating while reading! Thanks for bookmarking. Good to have you.
Flo — I do, too. I don’t know that they’re aware how grateful I am. They seem to just look at it as their job, but I wouldn’t do it. I really don’t know how much money they’d have to throw at me, but I doubt it’d be enough.
feefifoto — Mine, too. Maybe they’re being paid very well. They should be.
Vegas Princess — It surprised me. I’ve smelled icky trash before, but its potency this time really hit me.
Margaret — Those are the only two I need to use. If one doesn’t have what I’m looking for, the other one does.
Ron — Oh, yes. Catholic school all the way. If you want the gory details of that experience, kick back and read this. Make sure you read the comments, too. Some people had it way worse than me.
Mama O — That’s funny! My husband and I have similar duty distribution with our cats. I don’t know that I could clean up poop in the yard, though sometimes one of my kitties likes to go there. She weighs only 8lbs, so it’s not too scary.
OK, I’M OFFICIALLY GROSSED OUT NOW. HOW ‘BOUT YOU?
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 am
Ugh - I feel for you!
Reminds me of the time when I worked for a vet. We had an arrangement with the local council to collect the bodies of euthanised pets that their owners couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with any other way, and we had a locked outbuilding to keep them in (securely body-bagged, of course) until someone could fetch them.
One weekend we had a labrador die of rat-poisoning, which meant there was a lot of free blood in the body, specifically, in the gut. The owners wanted us to dispose of the body. We bagged the dog, and locked him in the ‘morgue’ and went home. Unfortunately, it was not only a weekend but a bank holiday weekend, and, what’s more, a Very Hot bank holiday. So it was three days later when the council truck came, and the morgue had no air-conditioning, because … well, in the UK, let’s face it, it’s seldom needed.
The stench that came out of that building when I unlocked it for the council was like a living thing. A malevolent, ‘I’m gonna crawl down your throat and suffocate you’ living thing. Gag? Throw up? You bet I did! Took half an hour before my eyes stopped watering - and I was used to bad smells.
Personally, I think bin men (trash collectors) must have had their noses surgically altered. My hat is off to them.
Jay’s last blog post..Setting a bad example
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 am
I *thought* you were going to say “I threw up in the garbage disposal.”
And I thought, well, if you have to throw up somewhere that’s not the bathroom, the garbage disposal would be my next choice.
Having said that, it is disgusting and just considering garbage sitting in 100 degree heat is enough to make me give a sympathy dry heave. Ugh.
cardiogirl’s last blog post..According to Jamie Lynn Spears, having a baby is a piece of cake
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Why do you think they have the new garbage trucks with the arm that picks up the can, empties it and then sets it back down, all while two men sit in the cab of the truck? hehe
P.S. I do what Ricardo Bueno does…I dump and run!
Lori’s last blog post..Happy Birthday Kadyn!
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:05 am
So true!!! I don’t know how they do it!!! We have thrown out some very nasty things in the past…..those poor souls!!!
They must have noses and stomachs of steel!!!!
KFJ’s last blog post..Positive Post Tuesday
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:27 am
Ah, foul trash. There is always a lesson to be learned from poo of any kind and the environment within which it exists…
When my wife and I were young parents, we lived in a cute little Cape Cod home. The house was everything we needed for our infant daughter and us. Spacious enough for us all.
Then, there was the garage. One car, with the “big door” in front and a solid door to access the rear. No ventilation. Home builders simply don’t consider the fact that young homeowners are simply ignorant about garbage, especially garbage stored in cans kept in stagnant heat in the middle of the summer.
Now, remember, we had an infant daughter. For all we knew, she was a normal baby. But, to us, new parents, she was a pooping machine. Poop and sleep, that is all she ever did. So, as we continuously changed her diapers, they would be bagged and placed in the high-heat garbage cans located in the garage. Until it happened. A sight I thought I would never see.
Maggots. Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands.
They were being produced and reproduced in the garbage can, courtesy of my kid’s poop. I didn’t know what to do except vomit all over them. Repeatedly retching over and over again until it dawned on me that they were probably reveling in the poop and vomit horn of plenty.
Once my wits came to me and I rediscovered my balance, I went to work. I found every insecticide I could get my hands on. With a chemical cocktail never to be reproduced, the maggots died. The can was willingly taken by the garbage haulers the next day, having been encased in several very large plastic bags and with an attached note imploring them to take the can and to hold their breaths as they did so.
Moral of the story? Keep the cans outside, away from the house.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 am
Ah, Byron, Shelly and Wordsworth have NOTHING on you, my friend. The imagery! The meter! The rhyme! The cat poo!
Jenn Thorson’s last blog post..Brotherhood of the Probable Pummeling
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:42 am
Aren’t the trash guys the mafia?
windyridge’s last blog post..Mummified
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
I threw up when I read this post, and then I threw up some more reading the comments. I KNEW everyone would chime in with their own, “Oh, here’s what made ME throw up” or “Here’s MY disgusting garbage story” but I had to read them anyway,
I’m glad I did, or I never would’ve read this gem by BabaBooey:
“There is always a lesson to be learned from poo of any kind and the environment within which it exists…”
Great poem, Kathy. Maybe you should print it out and tape it to your garbage can — if you can ever bring yourself to approach it again!
JD at I Do Things’s last blog post..I Made a lolcat so you don’t have to
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
Yes, they are wonderful people for the things they deal with. From the horrid smells to the hideous things like the junk from the recent flooding that hit town.
I remember doing the same thing when I was pregnant once.
Sassy Mama Bear’s last blog post..Heads or Tails #22 ~ Standing
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:06 am
I am going to make a poem, just for you:
Poo from cats is very smelly,
It’s not so bad when it’s still in the belly
First it’s food, and that smells grand
How it transforms, I’ll never understand
Next time your cat goes Number Two,
Flush, flush, flush that stinky poo!
The end.
Daisy the Curly Cat’s last blog post..Mr. Shrill’s Eyeballs: A Movie
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
Yay! Trash haulers! I think next time they come to my house I’ll give them a cookie. =)
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Bless them for doing their job–and about throwing up thing ewwwww very ewww
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Ugh! That’s just awful! So sorry to hear about that. No. Really. Sorry to hear about that.
Stick to the bag in the tree, ‘K?
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:22 am
oy! I could never do the trash man gig, I’m grossed out just thinking about the stench. I feel for ya!
chatblanc’s last blog post..Adventures in housecleaning
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I can relate. My gag reflex kicks up just reading this post. Last week, on trash pick-up day, I needed to take my dog for a walk. Unfortunately, I chose the time when the garbage truck was going through the neighborhood. Every time I got close to passing them by they moved to the next house on the block…keeping pace with us the whole way. I thought at the time that the two guys on the back of the truck must have burned out their olfactory nerves. No way could they do that job otherwise.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
It’s hot out. I Have three dogs. It is amazing the amount of poop three dogs can make in one day. Now try cleaning it up and putting it in a bin. That bin is outside.I keep it away from the house, on the edge of the property, by the railroad trestle, with a swamp on the other side. You don’t smell anything until you take the lid off. In this Heat? Nothing like cooked puppy poop!
I call it my fly factory. I had no idea how much the birds and bats from the swamp love flies and the other insects. Though it makes the bug zapper give out some horrendous sounds!
Chris’s last blog post..The Hammock from Hell
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
I think a face mask is definitely in order before emptying any trash in future. You can buy packs of them, so you always have a stash in the house ;O) Maybe even an oxygen mask?
Babs - beetle’s last blog post..Another trip down memory lane
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
I always give my trash guy a big tip at Christmas, but I tape it to the lid and peek thru the window to make sure he got it. because to have to face him in person would be mortifying. “Hey Steve…Merry Christmas..sorry about the rotten chicken”
sue’s last blog post..The Pee Purse
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
You are so right about this one Kathy. Let those guys go on strike for a week or two and everyone learns just how close to disaster city life becomes. One of my beliefs in life is that the more likely a job is considered to be menial or mundane, the more important it is to my quality of life and therefore the more respect I will show those workers.
Oh Jaffer - wow, what a piece of info. What strikes me about this is that Muslims view our pet dogs as too filthy to touch but they will dump their sewage in the ocean and then eat the fish? Hmmm…astounding. Plus, can the sewage sucker machine operators only use their left hand at work?
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
lol! yes, i agree with Jeff, raw meat wins the vote for the most puke induced smell ever!
april’s last blog post..Who the hell released The Kraken?
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Jay — First of all, I could never work for a vet. I’d be crying all the time and wouldn’t get any work done. Secondly, that’s some wicked smell you’ve described. Those who deal with the smell of death must have a secret. I don’t know how they’re around it without masks. Incredible.
cardiogirl — Isn’t it amazing how even reading about smell can affect us? I just had lunch and I’m not sure I can get through BabaBooey’s remark twice. Heave ho!
Lori — Ah, yeah, but that’s only for the big containers. Pity the ones who have to put their hands on our bags. Ewww and PU!
KFJ — Noses of steel, and let’s hope a huge paycheck to compensate.
BabaBooey — Why God put something on earth that would relish in poop is beyond me. I do not understand this. BB, I can’t get through this. I feel all itchy and gross now. I’m sorry, I have to move past your comment.
Jenn Thorson — What is a poem without poo, I ask you?
windyridge — Wasn’t that only on Sopranos?
JD at I Do Things — I know. I’m having a tough time reading them again now. Sorry! And BabaBooey should get a prize. I’m tipping my garbage men next time I see them.
Sassy Mama Bear — Oh, yes. Flood funk is bad, too. I’ve heard pregnant women can be susceptible to strange smells, ones that never bothered them before. I’d have to wear a gas mask the whole time, apparently.
Daisy the Curly Cat — OH, thank you so much for the wonderful poem. You are very smart and talented. Maybe we should go on the road and read at poetry slams? Will you be my sidekick?
Regan — They would appreciate that. Or maybe a beer. Ask your mom.
brooke — I know that was gross. Thanks for reading all the way through!
Lisa — Next time I’ll be prepared. It’s either a gas mask, or my husband has to do it!
chatblanc — Me neither. I say I could do it for good money, but really, how long would that last? East coast summers are brutal. Garbage becomes something else in the heat. No how, no way. Nothin’ doin’.
Lee — That’s the thing. They can’t ever get away from it, for hours at a time. They should perhaps ride the truck on the front of it instead. But still, it’s like the Peanuts’ Pigpen syndrome. The cloud follows you everywhere!
Chris — Cooked puppy poop. Oh, dear Lord that’s gross. You are in the running with BabaBooey for having the grossest, most descriptive, gag-inducing comment ever in the history of Junk Drawer. Want a magnet for that?
Babs beetle — You know, the more I think about it, the more I want to see if I can get Dave to do it for me. I’m no slouch, but I do not want to go near that thing again until snow is falling.
sue — You bring up another good point. When you put your trash out, you put your life out there. I know they couldn’t care less what you’re tossing, but still. I don’t want them seeing how much ice cream I eat in a week.
Daniel — I do the same. Everyone should be treated with respect, but so often people look down upon those who do what we consider menial work. Custodial workers suffer the same thing. I find myself cleaning up sloppy people before me in the ladies room. You wouldn’t leave TP all over the floor at your own house. Why elsewhere? Sewage disposal practices aren’t a Muslim thing. I think we’re just luckier here.
april — I once had to throw out old meat, but didn’t want to put it in my own garbage. Drove to an industrial park, found a big dumpster far away from a building and left them a little gift. I quadruple-bagged it. I pray that was enough.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
THAT’S the name of the movie! It’s been buggin’ me since I posted that comment. (Well duh, I coulda Googled it!)
Anyway, the dog poop story…hey, to each their own.
Ricardo Bueno’s last blog post..“The Sky’s the Limit!”
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Cats may be cute and cuddly, but what comes out of them is some of the nasty stuff in the world. No wonder they learn to cover it up.
Bruce’s last blog post..Essential Cinema - 36
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Pregnant women DO have a heightened sense of smell. When I was pregnant, I was so self-congratulatory that I didn’t have morning sickness. Then, when I was about 4 months along, I walked out into the garage to get in my car, and POW! Automatic dry heave from smelling the garbage. Luckily, I made it into the car and drove away before it could turn into a vomit episode.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Thank God we get our trash picked up twice a week. With 2 in diapers and this florida heat, I would be gagging also. Yes God Bless the Trash Haulers.
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
There’s only one thing worse, the ‘Well Being Check’….as in, the 911 call that goes ‘You know, my neighbor hasn’t picked up his mail in a few days and there’s a funny smell coming from under his apartment door’. Most of the guys on my crew have been on at least one of those….they say my turn is coming to be first in the door. And uh uh, you can’t just look over from the doorway and say, yep, he looks dead. You have to GO SEE.
Shieldmaiden96’s last blog post..Wardrobes of the Malfunctioning Variety
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Kathy, as for the magnet, we have hundreds of our own, and don’t need any more, but Thanks Anyway!
Now in all fairness, your Kitty litter comment reminds me of something worse. My old dog the late great Fred the wonderdog, enjoyed eating that which our late kitty kats would deposit in ye old litter box, or as Fred referred to it, “SNACKTIME!” We knew what was up when old Freddie would come wandering up from the basement with a kitty litter chin. That’s when you didn’t want to get licked by him. Now this is a truly repulsive comment!
Chris’s last blog post..The Hammock from Hell
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Ricardo Bueno — Yep. Me and Google. Same difference.
Bruce — And we haven’t even discussed gas.
mlm — A-ha! Snuck up on you, didn’t it? Sorry. That had to be awful. That’s not fair. In addition to getting to eat anything you want, everything should suddenly smell like flowers.
Spicybugz — I’m so jealous of those who get twice-weekly trash pickups. We get only one. Ugh. Diapers in Florida. Here comes the gag again.
Shieldmaiden96 — Maybe we need to get you a prayer of your own. Can’t imagine your job. Just can’t. I know you must have some way of dealing with what you see. I’m a weenie and could not cope. You’re a better person than me.
Chris — OK, that’s it. Uncle! I give up! No more! You win!
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Trash haulers are the unsung (until now) heroes of civilization as we know it. Such a beautiful prayer. I have a tear (of joy) in my eye.
Joe’s last blog post..Good Manners Are Important
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
LOL! Yes, the oh so powerful olfactory sense trumps again! When I was pregnant with my 1st child, I was doing a swallowing evalution (I know that’ll get you going…I’ll write a post about what that is soon) on an elderly patient. He had a bad case of thrush, and when I got him to open his mouth, I ended up in my coworker’s office, puking in the trashcan. Luckily, the patient had advanced dementia and if he was at all aware of what happened, he’d forget about it. Hope this story didn’t send you back to the sink! BTW, where is your odiogo button? I want to hear the little mechanical man read your post! hehe
kpasa’s last blog post..I Could Use a Really Good Massage!
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Oh, bless your heart! This happened to me a couple of weeks back. Thankfully I didn’t throw up…I don’t know how. But, it was the same concept. Garage + Heat = NASTY STANK! Ugh!
CrAzY Working Mom’s last blog post..Thought For The Day
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I went to high school with a kid who was one of the best dressed guys…and not hard on the eyes…..his dad was a garbage man!!!
KFJ’s last blog post..Positive Post Tuesday
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Two things:
1.) Glad I ate about 20 minutes ago.
and
2.) You do have a way with words.
Interesting subject matter.
Beamer
Beamer’s last blog post..A green Macro
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Joe — I knew you were the sensitive type. I knew it!
kpasa — Ick! I feel sorry for the gentleman, but it’s good he probably didn’t know what transpired. I have never been pregnant, so I don’t know what particular smells would do me in. But infections of the mouth. Yeah, it’s a good bet. I put my Odiogo back up for a test run. Check it out! Thank you again for helping me discover it.
CrAzY Working Mom — Today marked the first day of “Let Husband Deal With It.” I’m not going back out there to empty garbage until November.
KFJ — Ah, so maybe they’re raking it in and we just don’t know it! I do wonder what the average salary for a sanitation worker is. Anyone know?
Beamer — Glad you missed it. Of course, I’ll always put up a big warning for ya whenever the topic turns to poo, vomit or some other foul thing. I’ll try to talk about cotton candy and kittens next time, OK?
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Great site. You are awesome!
Nellie’s last blog post..Do we need forgiveness more then others?
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Oh I know that smell well! Here in Florida I keep my cans outside because of our cats and a son who is not quite toilet trained yet. Between the two, I’m sure I would pass out if they were in my garage!
Nodins Nest’s last blog post..Have Laptop, Will Travel!
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Man, cat poo will do it. I’ve never actually hurled, but I’ve been close.
diesel’s last blog post..Last Chance!
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 am
OMG…how timely! As I type, the happens to be a dead possum that smells like…well, a DEAD POSSUM in our trash can awaiting the trashman’s arrival tomorrow morning! Our dog killed it a couple of nights ago…& my husband just put it in the trashcan. All I can say is: God Bless Trashmen EVERYWHERE!
Olga, the Traveling Bra (Blog-Mistress)’s last blog post..BRA-NAPPED!!!
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 am
Nellie — Thanks. Do come back!
Nodins Nest — Greetings! I’ve always loved your avatar. Smart move on the garbage. You’re in one of those “soupy” states. No one around here keeps their bins outside, but in the hotter months, we should consider it.
diesel — The right concoction will do it. I must have also had rotting food in there. Bon apetite!
Olga, the Traveling Bra (Blog-Mistress) — You know, we haven’t had the misfortune YET of having to dispose of a dead animal. How much you wanna bet that won’t be my job? Pray for your garbage man. They know not what they take.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 am
My God Kathy, I thought I was the only person getting OUT of BED at 4 AM! My wife is not a MORNING PERSON, and has forbidden me to speak to her when I leave for work, other than “I LOVE YOU” and a goodbye kiss. I see your reply at 4:24, and I think, “She’s as nuts as I am!”
Chris’s last blog post..If Benet were alive today….
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 am
Jesus christ on a pogo stick, is anyone not writing about feline feces? Ewwwwwww….
Rickey Henderson’s last blog post..Farewell, Whiskers of Glory
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 am
I have that smell once a week after all the heat as set upon it. You are so right bless them all. Great blog with interesting post. Best Wishes
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
We have an elderly cat and she has a problem with um, er ‘kling-ons’. Last night she was carrying one around the size of Cleveland and the flies were hovering around her teeny bum. My daughter kindly took up the task of removing the offending sink fest, but left just enough to not allow the cat to come into the house. After dinner we decided to tackle the cat together, her holding kitty and me cleaning. The stench was so horrible, I thought I was going to throw up on the cat, which would have served her right. Wanna cat?
Carla’s last blog post..Nearly Wordless Wednesday
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 am
Hi Carla
Those things on the cat’s butt (indiscreet…moi?) they are called ‘Dags’ in New Zealand’ although mostly related to sheeps posteriors. It’s one of my favorite words - it converts neatly to an adjective, ‘Daggy’.
ken armstrong’s last blog post..Letting Off Steam
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Ha, great prayer! Sorry about your vomit disaster… Trash and cat poo are quite stinky. I only want to vomit after cleaning out the fridge.
Some of those bowls of leftovers can be quite rank if you know what I mean…
DirtyLaundryDiva’s last blog post..BridezillaBlondie makes all women look bad.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Our dog Eddie used to eat out of the litter box, too. We used to call it “Eddie’s Buffet”….
July 23rd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Chris — We are a special breed. I once had to take my husband to the ER in the middle of the night for a swollen eyeball (don’t worry, I didn’t punch him), and then went to work the next day and gave a webcast performance of a lifetime. I’m awesome in that way.
Rickey Henderson — Tell me about it. Plus, I saw a post about pee elsewhere, and vomit on another. Monday was THE day for gross-out stuff. We now return to our regular programming.
Liz — We’re being blessed with storms and cooler temps today, so when we take the trash to the curb tonight, we won’t pass out. Assuming we leave the lids on!
Carla — No, I do not want a cat like that. I have a cat like that. She has never been “right” in that area. We sometimes have to clean her with a warm, wet towel, which is no fun. The stink will kill you. We’re considering diaperizing her.
ken armstrong — We call them dingleberries, but I like “dags,” too. Can I use it?
DirtyLaundryDiva — I’ll spare you my fridge nightmares. There was also the time I left a bowl of mac and cheese out in the open, left my apartment heat on too high, then left for a weekend trip. Came back to a bowl of hair.
mlm — My God.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
What a charming tribute to Trash Haulers. I hope some of them are taking time out of their busy hauling schedules to read your blog! I’m sure they would be grateful to know that you appreciate them. Perhaps you could get your community newspaper to publish this. What do you think?
I can only imagine what your garbage must have been like to make you not only gag, but chuck your stomach-contents!
Yuck!
(Being the sole maintenance person for 4 litter boxes, I know all about “steaming cat poo” and without my mask, rubber gloves and organic air freshener, I think I’d be tossing my cookies too!)
Kat
Poetikat’s last blog post..Last night and today
July 24th, 2008 at 11:16 am
It is a thankless job, isn’t it?
I always give my garbage guys a tip at the holidays. Just a special thanks for all the crap they take all year.
Kelly’s last blog post..L.O.L.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Just to let you know the possum has departed…without incident…and the trashman never even blinked! Altho’ I think I did see him wrinkle up his nose a bit…
Olga, the Traveling Bra (Blog-Mistress)’s last blog post..I Have A 50-Foot Fembot & I’m NOT Afraid To Use It!
July 24th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
My son got to fillet a fish for the first time last week and he threw up doing it. Hopefully is better the next time - although that was not smell it was blood.
Jimmy Choo’s last blog post..Sunglass Hut
July 24th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Poetikat — Maybe I should write my blog URL real big on the trash bins? Or, I could just mail it to them with all the comments? Ours is a 3-cat household, which is PLENTY. I’m mostly in charge of cleaning them. I feel your pain.
Kelly — I’m going to tip them myself, too. It’ll probably freak them out. I bet they don’t get many tips.
Olga — That just goes to show they’ll take anything! Thank you for the update. I was wondering about the poor little guy.
Jimmy Choo — Oh, cripes. I thought you said he ate a fillet of fish. He filleted a fish! Ick. Ew. Gross. I bet that’s his first and last time doing it. Ugh.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Great post! Three cheers for trash haulers–hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! This is an extremely important job but definitely one that gets little thanks. I need to add this to my list of things I’m thankful for!
July 24th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I’m wondering if there are legions of 5-8 year olds out there watching Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel right at this moment, who decide that they want to be garbage haulers or sewer cleaners when they grow up.
Maybe to us, working for a sanitation company isn’t very glamorous but maybe we are just old fuddy duddies (even if some of us are in our 20s and 30) and don’t recognize that it may just be “THE” choice of 5 year olds everywhere. Its this generations combination “firefighter/zoopkeeper/ballerina” job that many of us had chosen as our career path when we were 5 that day long ago.
They could be generation “P.U.”
TheSnackHound’s last blog post..Who The Heck is “Dinah?”
July 25th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Karen — I can think of a number of jobs like this where people tend to only notice the work if it stops. A shame.
TheSnackHound — OMG. I can’t watch Dirty Jobs. I try, but I can’t. I love your firefighter/zookeeper/ballerina description. It’s perfect! And, really, who has a job of any kind that’s truly glamorous? I know mine’s not. Thanks for dropping by!
July 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Oh, dear. Having 2 cats myself, I wholehearedly join you in a resounding “Amen”!
Now normally I would write you a haiku, but I’ve been thinking all day and I’m all done with that for now!
WillThink4Wine’s last blog post..Randy Pausch has given his last lecture
July 25th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Has this got anything to do with the out of date stuff in your fridge?
tfa’s last blog post..Obama Loses Election
July 25th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
WillThink4Wine — I would not object to a delayed haiku. Come back tomorrow and serve one up after you’re well-rested, will ya?
tfa — Ha! I don’t think we had any seriously rotting food in there. Probably a combination of uneaten cat food and cat “deposits.” Um. Can I blame it all on my cats? Yeah, let’s do that.
July 26th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
just checking
tfa’s last blog post..Dick Displays Bollocks To Public