Labor Day Ritual

Labor Day Ritual

Some years back and before departing for China, found myself taking long walk in the day we call Labor Day, and in sunshine but not hot blistering sun. I strolled alleyways finding bags of empty beverage containers as folks clean out their garages and patios or in one occasEFL Book Clubion brought home large potted geraniums in two trips. The geraniums required transplanting to indoors for winter but felt unable to comply. The empty beverage containers add to my savings

accummulating.

This Labor Day Eve decided to follow similar pattern. The day before on my daily 10,000 step walk discover discarded large and small empty bottles of hard liquor laying in the grass. On one other occasion on this short walkway weeks before discovered one large empty glass liquor bottle, that I stored away in a container to prevent breakage before trip to Return-It Depot.

On Monday morning enjoy large breakfast of fresh peach and banana over hot oatmeal with two slices of toast, and coffee with milk and sugar before starting out. In my mind earlier in the morning plot out my path to this stash to see if still sitting in the grass. Lately my task takes on more discreet effort as to avoid gaining attention from being familiar to neighbours. The sidewalk uphill turns left or right, and most times take the left but today will take the right turn, cross the street and walk on the sidewalk at least for several minutes. Twenty minutes later, find the short pathway, turn left and find the discarded empty liquor bottles still laying in a row on the grass as if waiting for their next owner in a free pile. I brought with me two of my garbage bags now being reused from previous storing of empty beverage containers and kept in my large container waiting for reuse. As it turns out one of these bags is not a bag but a stretch of black plastic. This piece of plastic becomes padding at bottom of the second garbage bag and begin picking up the empty glass large liquor bottles. Twenty or so of these bottles lay about adding up I think. Two dollars may be possible cash returns on deposits. Ten cents each seems like little to most but in past years have found over repetition this practice becomes valuable as these small amounts add up. Having cash around my home when plastic credit so abundant becomes useful for small purchases like at the street vendor selling fruit. Five dollars buys one large bag of gala apples.

After filling my garbage bag begin my return trip, and plot out the course. As I turn around and walk back along the same sidewalk come to a pedestrian crossing and take this crossing blocks away from the earlier right turn. Laying in the street one flattened pop can sits and step out with no cars around to retrieve and throw into the same bag. Walking down hill see one lady staring up the street, but no hand wave. I keep walking downhill carrying the bottles now in my black plastic garbage bag with two hands. At the corner two guys visit on their patio. Around the corner of their half duplex the parkland appears, and can step into the longer grass through the large rocks forming barrier. The large park contains playground on left, and stroll along on the tall grasses beside the still flowing creek. This creek seems to be alive with underground water as the mountain creek must have dried up in our drought ridden summer. Along the way the ground rises forming a bridge across the creek to large grassy field. Two guys on bicycles sit nearby resting and visiting. A guy comes out of the gravel pathway to the street with his large bulldog on leash. I wait by the tall reeds letting him pass and enjoy the view of natural habitat. The parkway seems very clean today without garbage. I start along the pathway and out of the corner comes two small children running. They are identical twins running sidebyside laughing. Eighteen months old toddlers seem to be running from their parent. Around the corner comes a man talking loudly but not yelling to them to wait.

“They are very cute,” I said.

The gravel pathway takes me to the street and turn left. A few steps along find the homeowner put out his recycling the day before already, and inside container see one two litre empty milk container to pick out and throw into my garbage bag. At the corner the man with his bulldog on leash arrives, and crosses the street in opposite direction to mine. I cross the street at same corner and in half block arrive at my own driveway. Along the driveway neighbours stroll with their two children and greet me in a friendly way.

Before leaving for my Labor Day stroll, pack up three bags of empty beverage containers being stored inside my recycling bins outside. These were put into my car trunk. Now retrieve my car key from my jacket pocket, open the trunk and store today’s Labor Day garbage bag half full of glass and plastic bottles fitting beside everything else.

876 words.