the world: your trash can
I am nearly 45 years old, but for most of my adult life (with the exception of the last 3 years) I have lived in apartments. Some were in buildings, some were in private homes; but regardless, I never, EVER, threw my trash out the window. I put it in a bag and took it down to the dumpster, or threw it down the incinerator, or put it in a can by the curb. It actually never occurred to me that one could dispose of it out one's window. And in fact, I hadn't even been aware of the practice until a few months ago when we noticed that the abandoned building across the street, which stands next to a house that has several apartment units, has a rooftop covered with trash bags.
It has to be one of the most disgusting things I have seen in a long time. Maybe I find it so disusting because I pay several thousand dollars a year intaxes to live in a house that's in full view of it. I have never been one to be picky about my "neighborhoods". I never felt the need to live in an area that was associated with a particular demographic or reputation. As long as the neighborhood was affordable and close to the things I needed, it was sufficient. Clearly, I didn't look closely when I examined the area where my house currently stands. I might have actually noticed the abandoned plot of overgrown land next to my house, littered with old clothes, beer bottles and plastic bags that we jokingly refer to as "the hobo camp". I might have observed the trash repository atop that abandoned car garage. I would not, however, had been aware that my next door neighbors on the top floor occasionally like to use my driveway to toss trash: at first I thought it might have just been a good gust of wind that blew a laudry detergent bottle or a soiled diaper onto my back lawn, but after a while it seemed like all the junk ended up in the same spot: just within tossing distance of the small terrace outside the second story back door.
Today, I found a coconut shell. It began to occur to me that one of the drawbacks of owning a home is that it becomes much more of a personal matter when you find things like trash on your lawn or hobos on the other side of your fence. It also dwaned on me that, alhtough I didn't appreciate it at the time, one of the benefits of being an apartment dweller, is (along with many other lacking commitments such as taxes, insurance and a damned mortgage) the freedome to throw one's refuse out the window like tossing away a bad habit on New Year's Day. Why not?
It has to be one of the most disgusting things I have seen in a long time. Maybe I find it so disusting because I pay several thousand dollars a year intaxes to live in a house that's in full view of it. I have never been one to be picky about my "neighborhoods". I never felt the need to live in an area that was associated with a particular demographic or reputation. As long as the neighborhood was affordable and close to the things I needed, it was sufficient. Clearly, I didn't look closely when I examined the area where my house currently stands. I might have actually noticed the abandoned plot of overgrown land next to my house, littered with old clothes, beer bottles and plastic bags that we jokingly refer to as "the hobo camp". I might have observed the trash repository atop that abandoned car garage. I would not, however, had been aware that my next door neighbors on the top floor occasionally like to use my driveway to toss trash: at first I thought it might have just been a good gust of wind that blew a laudry detergent bottle or a soiled diaper onto my back lawn, but after a while it seemed like all the junk ended up in the same spot: just within tossing distance of the small terrace outside the second story back door.
Today, I found a coconut shell. It began to occur to me that one of the drawbacks of owning a home is that it becomes much more of a personal matter when you find things like trash on your lawn or hobos on the other side of your fence. It also dwaned on me that, alhtough I didn't appreciate it at the time, one of the benefits of being an apartment dweller, is (along with many other lacking commitments such as taxes, insurance and a damned mortgage) the freedome to throw one's refuse out the window like tossing away a bad habit on New Year's Day. Why not?
