Sequel to My Last Blog

Over the past few days at the county fair, I repeatedly noticed a woman who passed my booth.  She was poorly dressed and from her responses to my greetings, I guessed she wasn't very bright.  She was pleasant, but not articulate.  I assumed she was doing janitorial work at the fair, because she always seemed to be dragging a bag of what I supposed to be trash.  In retrospect, I realize that she was not wearing a tee-shirt with a logo indicating that she was employed either by the fair or the arena in which the exhibits are located, but I hadn't given it that much thought previously.


Today I met her in the ladies' room.  She was soaking her ball cap in cold water before putting it back on her head.  She commented on how hot she was.  Since the exhibit hall is air-conditioned, I said, "Oh, have you been spending a lot of time outside?"


"Yes," she replied.  "I have found $90 worth of cans the last couple days."


Ah...what I assumed to be trash was a bag of cans.  For those of you reading this who do not live in states that recycle cans; in New York state we are charged a 5-cent deposit on most bottled and canned beverages.  We get the 5 cents back when we return the can or bottle to a recycling center.  Many people take advantage of this.  Others just throw their cans in the trash.  At the fair, the likelihood is that people are not going to bother to carry their empty soda can home with them.  They are going to pitch it in the trash.  So, this lady was out pawing through trash in the heat of the fairgrounds looking for cans at 5 cents a piece.  $90 worth of cans comes out to 1800 cans she had retrieved.


She added, "I've got to keep going.  We just had to pay $100 for tires, because someone slashed our tires."


A bit later, I finished a Pepsi.  I noticed her sitting down and resting a short distance away.  I walked over and  handed her my empty can.  "One less she has to dig through the trash for," I thought.  


I wondered if I should give her some cash.  For me the $10 she still needs to pay for the tires is nothing.  For her, it is 200 more cans.  It is also, however, the dignity of knowing she has earned that money through hard work.  She is not out on a street corner begging.  She is sorting through our trash.