Deep In Dumpster Hell

[Steely_Dan]

I recently moved to the Inland Empire (in California), specifically to a town called Hesperia. I'm only here temporarily to assist my bride-to-be with the sale of her home. Escrow closes in 28 days and we will be moving to the Lake Arrowhead area.

Since relocating here I have begun to realize how difficult it must be to live in a "red" state. Hesperia has got to be the most backward city in the entire state of California. I could spend hours writing about the nut cases I have run into here. But, in the interest of time, I will share but one incident that I believe reflects how our country has changed.

In preparing to move, I have been acquiring boxes from dumpsters behind many of the stores and businesses in the Hesperia area. In most cases people leave me alone or have allowed me to take what I need.

One morning I was getting boxes from a large dumpster behind a rundown drinking establishment. At one point I had to get into the dumpster to get what some would call the mother load of boxes....a bunch of beer bottle containers. Sturdy yet not too big. This was my lucky day.

As I was rummaging through the dumpster, I was approached by what appeared to be an inebriated woman with her significant other in tow. She had a very sad look on her face as she said to me..."Are you okay, buddy?" "Do you need any money or a meal?" Clearly they thought that I was one of the many homeless looking for sustenance to survive. I thanked them very much and told them that I was okay. They asked me if I was sure...I just nodded.

I got into my car with the spoils of my search...conquering yet another Hesperia dumpster...and I thought to myself how nice those people were to be concerned about my welfare. It gave me a good feeling.

On the way home I hit several other establishments hoping to score another hit...
I ended up behind a church near our home. Once again, I found myself “dumpster diving,” knee deep looking for that special box...

As I was rummaging, I was startled by a man who had obviously come out of the church. He began to lecture me about going through their dumpsters and that it was against the law. He continued by instructing me to get out of their dumpster and go to a homeless shelter if I needed help.

Not saying a word, I got out of his "holy dumpster" dragging to exceptional boxes behind me. Upon seeing this, the "church" man told me to put the boxes back and to leave the church property immediately...or he would call the authorities.

I took the long walk back to my car a bit dejected and disappointed...I mean, those were really great boxes.

As I drove home I thought how ironic it was that when I was behind the bar, people truly cared about my welfare. Yet behind the church, I was not welcomed. How things have changed

I lit another cigarette.

-Paige

[acmejack]

1. xtian charity!

nt

[Warpy]

2. You could have quoted the verses in Matthew to him

that end with "that which you do for the least of these, you do for me." Although it probably would have made him pissier, it might have made him think.

Or you could have explained you were moving and looking for boxes. That wouldn't have made any difference to a prig like that, but it might have made him feel a little guilty.

Or you can copy this and send it to the local newspaper on your way out of town. My guess is that they'd be happy to get one this grammatical and publish it. That won't do anything about the religious prig, but it might make some of his congregation think about things.

Homeless people generally say the get their best contributions from poor and working class people and only a hard time from yuppies and suburbanites. I guess if you know hardship, you relate to it better.

[Mutley]

3. wow

you've got cajones jumping into dumpsters like that... if i jumped in one near my house i would probably get stuck with a needle or come down with hepatitis...

you know... if you live near a toys r us they have great boxes in all sizes that are perfect for moving (i used to work at a toys r us). if you get there when they first open before they crush the boxes i'm sure they'd be happy to give you as many as you need.

as far as the point of your story... thats very sad that the 'churchman' had to act that way and couldn't let you keep garbage that he didn't even want anymore... i think its pathetic..

edit for grammar

[mcscajun]

4. It's more than just a little odd...

...to have anyone concerned with stuff you take OUT of a dumpster. Mostly folks only care that you put stuff in the dumpster they're paying for.

I can only imagine what the charge would be: 'stealing garbage'??

[acmavm]

5. Write a letter to the local newspaper and tell your story there. Point out

what you so aptly pointed out here. It was those that would be considered sinners by the pious hypocrites at the church who were concerned about you.

You know I can't think of one single justification for the existance of that church. Not one. Because Christ said that what you do the the least of his people, you do to him. \

No, they should turn that place into a parking lot.

[earth mom]

6. A question

Why didn't you just say you were looking for some boxes....? Seems like you gave no explaination for your actions and that allowed for them to jump to conclusions about you. Those dumpsters were on their property after all....

[Mutley]

7. you know...

I have a guy in my neighborhood who gets stuff from peoples trash that he sells in a flea market... and while this grosses me out a little i never question him or refuse to let him take my stuff... i mean.. ITS TRASH... THAT MEANS THERE IS ONE LESS THING GOING INTO THE LANDFILL!!! is that a bad thing?

[Selteri]

13. Up until this last week, anyone who was divig through my trash

was in sore danger of cutting thier hands up very badly on broken glass.

While I had lots of small and medium sized boxed in my trash too the glass trash from my working as a glass blower was always so scattered through the trash that the glass shards got everywhere.

It's a lttle safer now that I have found a proper recycler for it though. :)

[Mutley]

15. lol... thats just ONE reason i would not go around digging in the trash

:)

[coloradodem2005]

8. That was bullshit.

But maybe explaining could have helped. If you had a clear opportunity.

[MissWaverly]

9. this reminds me

I read a totally vicious troll mail over on Will Pitt's website about Andy asking for money to help him now that he has cancer, this person claimed to have been poor, and I thought this is a Repug. No way, this is someone who has always had cruise control. I grew up
poor and I often went hungry, I remember that my Dad, my sister and I ate one can of Dinty Moore stew (for all 3 of us) for supper and had 2 pieces of peanut butter bread each for supper, breakfast consisted of 1 cup of cooked oatmeal with 1/4 cup of milk, and lunch was 1 orange, 3 oreos and 2 pieces of white bread with 2 thin slices of meat, and I have always found people to be generous to those in need, especially those who have little themselves. I remember one of the women that my mother cleaned for had been in a Nazi concentration camp. This woman wasted no FOOD, she even gave the leftover egg shells to the birds.

[Steely_Dan]

10. Yeah...I agree

...I probably should have explained what I was doing. I just wasn't in the mood for any kind of potential confrontation. You see, since moving here to Hesperia, I feel like I am always under attack. Everywhere I look, there are people that I don't recognize or understand and I'm a little hesitant to confront anyone.

-Paige

[earth mom]

14. Maybe they would have offered help if you had explained.

BTW, doesn't Hesperia have a lot of elderly retired people? I used to live in Southern California, but can't remember where it is. Maybe I'm thinking of Hemet. Anyway, since moving from the big city to a much smaller city/town I've noticed that people are so much NOSIER here than where I came from and because I'm not used to it, it does put me on edge sometimes. That could be your problem more than anything else-the locals don't recognize you and are curious about you. :shrug:

P.S. Also if there's a good sized Hardware Store or Home Depot near you, you may be able to get used boxes there if you time it right-that's what I've done before. HTH. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

11. There is a book called Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon.

It is the journal of his trip as he drives across the country in an old Ford van. He avoids the Interstate system altogether and concentrates on roads that were once marked blue on maps. As he travels, one of the most significant points of his story is that the people he meets who have the least were the ones who were most willing to share what they had.

[Hello_Kitty]

12. And they pay their bills too

My ex-boyfriend did landscaping work on the side and said that he always had trouble collecting his fee from his wealthy customers in palatial custom homes. It was like $150 is nothing to them so they assume it's the same for everyone. On the other hand, the people who lived in modest homes and barely getting by would practically dig through their couches for coins in order to pay him the 30 bucks they owed him on time.

[freebird1]

16. ~

:kick:

[Steely_Dan]

17. Shameless Kick

Sorry...

[RUMPLEMINTZ]

18. Maybe this is a silly question

but why not go to Mail Box's Etc. or a place like that? I'm in the process of moving now and I got all kinds of different sizes of boxes for $25. I'd think the time and effort you put in was worth at least that much.