I’m not certain which was the most thrilling on Monday: learning the NHL was back on track, or that it was my first “garbage day” in more than three weeks.
With about a dozen recycling bags and a huge can overflowing with black sacks, I think the sight of the big blue disposal unit took the cake.
At least now I have part of my half of the garage back, and the dead possum discovered on the back lawn over the weekend was beginning, despite my clogged nasal passages, to ‘turn.’ I was, I have to confess, a little torn over what to do with the corpse … bury it, put it into the compostable kitchen waste, a blue recycling bag or smuggle it in with the garbage?
Needless to reveal, the deceased possum is no longer a problem, nor is the issue of kitchen waste disposal … that goes into a hole/mound of earth in a corner of the field.
Yet, despite the fact that I, and I’m told, most residents of the rural quarters of our fine city compost our scraps, once a week a disposal truck will pointlessly, but likely at great expense, drive by.
I am not, however, discouraging people from recycling their kitchen and yard waste because we, the taxpayers, need it since the city has committed to supply a private company with 7,000 tons of the stuff each year.
We fall short of that volume, it will be tax dollars that are recycled … sort of like the Heat contract!
Then again, that quantity might be met if the city allowed free dumping of Christmas trees and yard waste which, thanks to many cretins, are often disposed of along roadsides throughout the rural area (though I think the Christmas tree dumped on the sidewalk in front of Ledgeview Golf Course gives new meaning to the word ‘crass.’)
Granted, this sort of trash is biodegradable – over a generation or two – but it is both illegal and unsightly.
Of course, those who dump that stuff, and assorted couches and mattresses, don’t give a damn about anyone else so long as it isn’t cluttering their neighbourhood. Nor probably would they care about, or bother to seek out, a proper disposal facility, free or otherwise.
It’s the same sort of attitude that caused all the havoc on the Port Mann Bridge last week. They’re in a hurry, they don’t think, and it’s everyone else’s fault but their own when they get in accidents.
What part of winter and the bridge shrouded in fog don’t they get?
Slow down, folks!
Virtually every bridge and overpass gets slippery this time of year, especially those crossing large bodies of water. The air chills the deck, the water vapour enfolding it freezes, and unless you drive to conditions, accidents occur.
I also wonder why some drivers appear to pay no attention to the little temperature sensors most vehicles have these days, that not only let you know how cold it is, also flash “ice!”
Or why few people here in what they think is “Lotus Land” don’t ever bother with winter tires, or think that just because there’s a badge or decal on the side of their vehicle that says 4x4, they’re safe at any speed.
Until the NHL gets back into full swing, Canucks eventually make the playoffs and the sunshine returns (probably some time in June), anyone crossing the Port Mann, or any other bridge in this province, needs to exercise both diligence and caution. Only then should it be crossed off the list as potentially “the world’s widest skating rink.”
markrushton@abbynews.com