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July 1, 2006
the cat factory
Today as I rode home on my bike from a shopping trip to the Soviet Safeway, grocery bags hanging dangerously from my handlebars (and yes, Carl and Mari, I wear no helmet), I spotted a man dragging an old computer printer and throwing it in the yard of The Cat Factory.
The Cat Factory, as I call it, is across the street from my back yard. It could be a beautiful house, but no one lives there and it's been vacant for some time. I see yuppie couples pointing at it, and even from afar, I can read their lips saying, "Yes, let's buy this one too! We'll gut it!" But I'm sure they've inquired and I'm sure it's one of those houses whose owner cannot be found, or the owners don't want to let go of it for whatever reason. And so it sits and rots, becoming more expensive to improve by each passing month. A number of feral cats live in it, and I see them coming in and out of the broken windows. At least they are taking care of the rat population, or getting their asses kicked by our huge rats.
Anyway, the house produces cats, and neighbors or visitors into DC also dump their garbage in the front yard of The Cat Factory. Furniture and other garbage will sit there for weeks until someone calls to get it removed.
Anyhow, I stared at the man, who saw me looking, and he looked very guilty. He yelled something at me, and I suggested he throw it in his own garbage, or into the public receptacle not 50' feet from where he decided to throw it on the ground. But he continued to justify his actions, clearly illegal dumping no matter what his excuse, on the fact that it was just laying there in the alley. "That's illegal dumping!" I yelled back at him. He cursed and scowled, and seemed to think that dumping it in someone else's yard is OK. So I set my bike up against a streetlight post, walked over and picked up the printer, and threw it away myself as he watched me.
Does anyone remember the commercial with the crying indian dude from like the late 70s or early 80's? Or Woodsy the frikkin' Owl? "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute!" Has anyone seen a similar ad since then? I think we are due for another round of public anti-litter campaigns, but clearly it will have to wait for support from another administration...
Photo taken Summer 1990, Chugach National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, Girdwood, Alaska. I was 20 years old: 
Can you believe I was not yet out when this picture was taken?
Posted by jimbo at July 1, 2006 10:34 PM
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Comments
When I worked for the Park Service I never got to wear the sexy uniform :(
Posted by: homer at July 1, 2006 11:50 PM
haha, the man must be very pissed to watch you throw away the printer...
Posted by: Gabriel at July 2, 2006 3:10 AM
Could you look gayer in that picture?
I'm only worried that you'll fly off your bike, again, and end up being spoonfed in a long term care facility for the rest of your days.
Posted by: copperred at July 2, 2006 3:37 AM
You gave great gay face...
you twink
Posted by: T im at July 2, 2006 10:34 AM
That is an awesome picture.
You get an A for ethics and community service. Good for you for taking care of business and standing up to the Soulless republicans.
Posted by: Dan at July 2, 2006 10:56 AM
Oh, you were out - you just didn't know it yet! :)
Posted by: Punkin at July 2, 2006 12:27 PM
Chicken! ;-)
Posted by: Wulf at July 2, 2006 2:47 PM
when I was at summer camp I learned a valuable lesson; always leave a place cleaner than how you found it. maybe that is why I became a Mental Health professional.
anytime I go on a hike I bring an empty bag in order to pick up other people's garbage. once a fellow hiker asked me why - stating that there was no way that I would be able to personally clean up the entire planet.
'well' I answered 'if I don't clean up what I can, I am assured that the planet will never be clean.'
the next time we went on a hike my fellow camper had brought along his own garbage bag.
thanks for setting a good example.
Posted by: WindReader at July 3, 2006 10:23 AM
you looked so pure...so wholesome...I bet you took meals to shut ins and had the cleanest fingernails in the class at that point too :)
Posted by: wyocwby at July 3, 2006 10:28 AM
I remember the indian crying commercial, I thought that was one of the most powerful commercials for its time. I don't think it would move many today. I pick up litter in my hood, when I'm walking my dogs.
Oh yeah, wear an effing helmet. No one wants to push you around in a wheelchair.
Posted by: TonkaManOR at July 3, 2006 1:15 PM
OK, you know you look adorable in those pics.
Posted by: Ed at July 3, 2006 3:40 PM
Cute..but wouldn't it get awful hot in that owl suit by the end of the day?
Posted by: Donald at July 3, 2006 4:24 PM
You would wear a helmet if you saw the bike accident I saw on near the big round "M" on campus years back. Big red splatter on a windsheild. Until then, stay on the sidewalks and bike slow. People make a softer target than cars.
Posted by: Mari at July 3, 2006 5:58 PM
Can we say "Doogie Howser"?
Posted by: Gay Veteran at July 3, 2006 7:02 PM
I applaud your civic-mindedness. One thing though, if the "public receptacle" you mention is one of those sidewalk trashcans then that printer may end up back on the street.
DC DPW trash collectors tend to refuse to pick up "household trash" from those receptacles, in fact I've observed them many times pulling trash bags out of the cans and fling them against the side of the nearest house -- as if to teach someone a lesson about proper trash disposal.
Apparently, there's some sort of code as to what trash is acceptable in these cans (bagged trash, TVs’ and construction debris are no-no's -- not sure about printers though). Unfortunately, those of us who live near those sidewalk trashcans have to clean up after other people AND the DC trash collectors.
Posted by: Chip at July 5, 2006 10:43 AM
Iron Eyes Cody
http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/04/obit.cody/
And snopes claims he wasn't a Native American at all:
http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/ironeyes.htm
Posted by: Justin at July 5, 2006 2:03 PM
ONLY YOU CAN PUT OUT FOREST FIRES...ONLY...YOU!
BUT IF YOU'RE A NICE HAIRY BEAR WITH RED HAIR YOU CAN PUT OUT RANGER JIMBOS FIRE POST HASTE!!!!!!
Posted by: kevin at July 10, 2006 5:09 PM