A day in Old Washington 9/15/1998

Kay and John were at work and I just made myself at home. I realized I have missed playing in the yard so I seized the opportunity to do so. Washington has wonderful soil in which to dig - one hardly needs a shovel. I guess this explains all the old green tobacco barns around the area. They are tall and distinct looking but no longer in use as the tobacco is sent to the factories promptly after cultivation. Who knew? One can learn a lot when you explore outside the perimeters of you own safe haven. The soybean fields were still a lush green but the dried corn stalks let me know there would be no shortage for decorating in the upcoming fall season.
Back to the yard...I pulled vines, visited with the neighbor, and even found an old push lawn mower which actually worked quite well on the yard. But the highlight of the day had to be the trash collection.
Recycling seems to be a real priority and after Saturday's yard sale there was plenty to recycle. The entire neighborhood seemed to be cleaning up and fixing up. First the yard clippings and vines were taken and then the front end loader and dump truck came for the neighbor's tree trimmings. Soon another truck picked up the discarded carpet rolls for the house that was being remodeled. One can keep up with everyone else's trash and going ons because the houses on Main Street are perhaps ten feet apart and when you sit on the front porch you look down the row of porches.
Throughout the day I lost count of the various times they picked up household garbage, paper boxes, and stuff, and finally by the end of the day the speaker box. Of course Velma made her rounds in an old pickup with an African American man helping her. She even took the battery thinking she could get two dollars for it. Caroline's friend Eva is her granddaughter and she does not understand her grandmother. She moved the granddaughter out of her nearby house to store more of her treasures after she had filled another house. I think we call it hoarding.
That evening folks came and went visiting with Caroline and Jane. It reminded me of my own teenage years on Morrison with teenagers coming and going all the time.
I did not want to deprive the residents of cleaning the rest of their yard so I decided it was time to travel on but I enjoyed getting my "yard fix."