Today we went to The Pony's last parade. He and his trombone marched
around the town, kicking off the annual school carnival. Next year, The
Pony won't be able to fit band into his college prep schedule. It's a
shame. That's one activity that brought The Pony out of his shell.
Hick
had to work, so I picked up my mom to accompany me. We had to drop The
Pony off on time, and stake out our viewing spot. Hick planned to meet
us by parade time. He didn't feel comfortable leaving work early,
because the plant had experienced a theft recently.
"The
guys heard a thump out back, and went to check it out. There were two
women stealing our scrap. In broad daylight, during a shift! They had a
car backed right up to the loading dock. One was in the dumpster,
throwing stuff out to the other one to load in the vehicle. They were in
their forties! I don't even know how that one got up in the dumpster.
They said a guy in a gray car gave them permission. Said they could have
whatever they wanted out of the dumpster, because the plant was
shutting down. Huh! I have a gray car, and another supervisor has a gray
car, and the boss has a gray car. None of us told anyone they could
take our scrap! We got the license number, and called the police. Those
gals came back, but then left. I guess they were going to ask us not to
press charges. The police tracked them down to a town about 15 miles
away."
"But. It was scrap. So why do you care what happens to it? It was in a dumpster. You were throwing it away."
"That
dumpster is on wheels. We have it hauled off. We get $150 a ton for
that scrap! It belongs to the plant, not to anybody who wants to dig it
out of the dumpster."
I told my mom that tale on the
way to the parade. Of course she had a story to tell. Let the record
show that Mom is a former 4th grade teacher.
"That reminds me
of the year I had a room mother who spent the students' money and dug
around in dumpsters. I could hardly stand to watch the kids lick their
fingers when she brought them a box of donuts. That was not a good year
as far as snacks were concerned."
My mom. Master of the understatement.
Ewww. Your mother should be writing a book. Between her neighbors, her driveway, her hole-y sweatpant-wearing antics and now, her teaching anecdotes--she has plenty of stories to share.
ReplyDeleteYou and your mom should tag team on a book.
ReplyDeleteI knew a woman who retrieved a boatload of discards from a dumpster: new crayons, skeins of paper, literally a closet full of school supplies tossed by the school. She could have kept the stuff had she not gone to the local news and broadcasted her discovery and tried to expose reckless spending in her district. No it wasn't me. I'm smarter than that. The school threatened to prosecute her for theft if she didn't return the contents. She watched the trash truck haul it all to the DUMP.
Well if it had just been sitting on TOP of the garbage, still in the paper.... But I would have passed on the room mother's creamed chipped beef.
ReplyDeleteDumpster divers, beware! You may be prosecuted.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they could put a no trespassing sign on the dumpster to keep people out of it. I must admit I've found a treasure or two in a dumpster.
ReplyDeleteSioux,
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath for my mom to write a book. Or for her to read a book. She's not a reader. The weekly hand-me-down tabloids are as far as she goes. And "those one-line things that go across my computer" sometimes catch her interest.
*****
Linda,
Schools can't have laymen digging around in their trash all willy-nilly. Not with confidentiality lawsuits looming over their scholarly heads. Sure, one woman found a cache of craft items. Others might find super-secret documents with identifying student information. Shame on her for gnawing off the hand that fed her. A case of just desserts. Take it and shut up about it next time. Because you know she won't stop there.
*****
Tammy,
But imagine her glee if she had found 600 pounds of three-weeks-past-its-prime Texas beef! She might have gone out to celebrate with a Korean pedicure.
*****
Catalyst,
One man's trash is still HIS trash, not anyone else's treasure, it seems.
*****
Stephen,
Maybe those gals shouldn't have been so brazen to pull up in broad daylight while the factory was clearly open for business. I'm pretty sure they lock up the fence at night to keep people out.
Your mom is a pip!
ReplyDeletejoeh,
ReplyDeleteMy mom is the pip-inest pip that ever pipped!