Trash Day

"Trash Day" 3:45 AM 8/19/99

It was a warm Wednesday morning, John had just woke up and Charlene was already up. He asked her what she was doing? 

She said, "It was time to clean this place up!" Charlene was upset from hearing John bitching about how messy the house was. Charlene left and went to the store, she had to get some things to clean the house. When she got home she found John still in bed, she told him to stay out of her way because she was going to get rid of all the garbage in the house this week.

John could tell she was mad at him for not getting out of bed. John got up and asked if there was anything he could do to help her. Charlene said, "You can get me the big garbage bags I've just bought and then go to the store a get a new garbage bin for me". 

He gave her bags then said, "I'll be back as soon as I can".  John left and went to the store to see if he could find what Charlene wanted.  He was gone about a hour, when John walked in he could see that Charlene had been cleaning. "I got the biggest one I could find." 

She just said, "Its about time you got home, take these bags out to the road, I want all the garbage out". John started getting the bags and taking them out, he knew that she was too mad at him to talk to her.

Trying to make Charlene feel a little better John asked her if she wanted something for lunch.  He went into the kitchen and started to make up some lunch for both of them, John was telling Charlene how much better the house looks, but Charlene didn't seem to hear him.  They sat down and ate lunch, Charlene got up and said, "I have to get this done so I can get some rest before have to go to work." 

John replied, "I will help, I know how much you want to have this done."  They worked till about 2:00 PM, Charlene asked John if he could wake her up about 6:30 so she could get ready for work. John stayed up and cleaned up more so maybe Charlene might feel better when she got up. It was 6:30 and John went in to wake Charlene up, then went out to fix her a lunch for work.  Charlene got up and got ready for work, then seeing what John had done around the house. She said, "It would be great if you didn't have to work tomorrow and we could get this done, then when you're on vacation next week we might be able to go somewhere."

John told her that he would see what he could do about getting the day off.  Charlene smiled and kissed John and thanked him for the help. John went right to the phone and called his boss at work, told him that some things had came up and asked if he could have the next day off.  Well that was set now he could get things cleaned up before Charlene got home. 

It was getting late and John was getting tired so he thought he would get some sleep then get up before Charlene got home and finish things up.  He went in and set his clock for 1:00 am that should give me time to get it done.  His clock went off and John sat up and thought I hope she will be in a better mood when she gets home. John started to finish getting things done, he only had a few hours before Charlene would be home. Looking around John thought to himself well it looks pretty good, I think she will like it.  John checked his watch, it's 2:45 and Charlene will be home soon he thought, she says she gets off about 3:00 so I guess I had better get the rest of the trash out then I will be done. 

John started to empty all the waste cans in the house and bagged them up.  He took the other bags out from earlier in the day. He was thinking if Charlene were feeling better it would be nice to see if she would like to go out for breakfast.  As John was walking back in the house he saw the bin he'd bought and thought he could put all the trash from the waste cans in there and take it all out all at once. So he went and pulled the bin around to the front of the house then went inside to get the bags.

John has a thing about hiding on Charlene, it’s not a bad thing. She would yell at him because she didn't want him to get hurt from the things he did.  When he walked out and looked at the bin he thought, "I wonder if I would fit in that?"

John set the bags down and went back to the house and got one of the larger garbage bags Charlene had bought earlier in the day. Thinking that he would try it and no one would know. John stood in the bin and then stepped in the bag and started to sit down.  He was thinking how he would have to cover up so that he wouldn’t be seen. John liked the idea of hiding in places and thinking no one knew he was there. As John lay down he thought I had better put the lid on too, reaching out he grabbed the lid and pulled it on top.  He laid there for what seemed like a few minutes. Then he thought I wonder if anyone was walking by if they would know I was in here. He then thought I better get out before Charlene gets home, I know she would be pissed if she found me in here.

As John was taking off the lid he heard a car coming, setting the lid back down so he wouldn't get caught getting out.  Then the worse happened the car stopped, now what am I going to do he thought.  John was lying in the bin scared that he was going to be caught and Charlene would find out and really be pissed at him. It wasn't long before he would know how she felt, the car that pulled up and stopped was Charlene's.  All John could think was, " OH GOD DON'T LET HER CATCH ME IN HERE!"

He heard the door of the vehicle door shut, then he heard Charlene walking past the bin and open the door to the house. " OH THANK GOD! She don't know I am here. I will just wait here a few minutes. and she will go to bed, then I will get out what "luck".

"LUCK" wasn't with John because he heard the door open to the house and Charlene yelling, "I told him I wanted all the garbage out of the house when I got home, I guess if you want something done you have to do it yourself!" 

John wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he would soon find out. The lid on the bin opened and Charlene was placing bags of garbage on top of him, the ones he had left out and some more from inside the house. Charlene was mad saying, "When I get it cleaned up around here, what will he bitch about then!" 

The lid came down hard and locked.  John's heart was racing, I don't think she knows I am in here. John knew that he couldn't get out now, she would be mad at him for sure. He loved Charlene and she did keep telling him to stop playing these games.  John knew she wouldn't understand if he tried to explain.

John's luck wasn't getting any better, he felt the bin start to move. What is she doing?  She doesn’t know that I am in here. 'Charlene is taking the bin to the garage'. John could not believe what was happening, his wife was taking him out as "GARBAGE!” John heard Charlene putting more garbage along side and on top of the bin.  All he could do now was wait and try to get out later, he knew that Charlene was really mad and it would not be a good time to talk to her now. 

A few minutes had past and he hasn't heard anyone, John started to think I better get out of here and try to find a way to make it up to Charlene. John tried to lift the lid, "Shit!" what the hell did she put on top of this thing. John was getting scared.  I have to get this open before it gets light outside, how would I explain why I am in here. John tries again but the lid still doesn’t move. John's thoughts were, "This was starting to feel real, If Charlene knew he was in the bin she would never lock the lid." This is starting to worry him a little. 

It was really getting hot, John tried again to move the lid, but still no luck. Thinking, 'What am I going to do now? Maybe I could yell and Charlene would hear me. I will just have to face the music. I know now what she was saying, that I have to be careful of what I am doing. I guess I am going to have to tell Charlene she was right and stop doing things like this.' John thought, he is going to have to wait till he could hear Charlene and call for her to help him out. "I might have to wait till about 6:00 p.m. When she goes to work, wow a day in the garbage. Charlene is going to tell me "It was my own fault and it serves me right!” John thought, If Charlene was real mad she could leave me in here just to teach me a lesson. 

Time was going slow, all John could think about was how he was going to have to make this up to Charlene. It was getting hotter now from lying in the bin, John said to himself, 'Man I don't care how anymore, just let me get out of this thing'. John heard Charlene 'I am out! I just have to wait till she gets a little closer and call to her'. What he heard isn't what he wanted to hear, Charlene saying, " Bobby, get the rest of the garbage out of the garage. It all has to go out this week. I want it all out before the big guy gets home". 

John yells, "CHARLENE! I am in here". She can't hear me! 

She then says, "The garbage men are due to arrive at any moment. We need to get it all out for pickup". 

John is really scared now, "What does she mean pickup?” Oh No! Its Thursday - "TRASH-DAY"-. John started hitting the sides of the bin, trying to yell. All he could think now is I really messed up this time. John could not believe how dumb he was to hide in a trash bin. Knowing, Charlene was going to clean the house and get all the garbage out this week. What worries him is, no one knew he was hiding in the bin. It was filled and taken to the garage. John realizing he was taken there as a load of garbage. The bin started to move, it was being taken to the road with the rest of the garbage that is  to be picked up later today. John never thought it would go this far, set out at the road to be hauled away as trash. His only thoughts is, how was he going to get out. 

John heard Charlene saying, "There sure is a lot of garbage out here this week, I hope they take it all". 

Bobby said, "Leave it to me, I'll get them to take it." 

John is really scared, they have no idea where he is. John is starting to feel really helpless.  It all started out as just playing around and everything went wrong. He hid in a trash bin, that was now sitting out with the rest of the garbage.   What John heard next wasn't what he wanted to hear.  The sound of " Air Brakes " 

John knew it was the Garbage truck.  His mind was racing, Would they notice him or be picked up and loaded as this weeks trash? 

He could hear the truck louder now, 'OH GOD! It sounds like it is next door, Why did I do this?' 

It wasn't long when John heard the truck moving again, It sounds like it is in front of the house now! John could hear things being dumped in the truck and cycled to make more room. John thought, 'is this it? Was Charlene right? That playing my games one-day I will be sorry?' 

Then John heard a guy say, "Hey lady we can’t take all this stuff". 

Charlene said, "Come on "PLEASE", I want to surprise my husband and if you guys could take all this stuff, it would be great." 

John’s heart was really pounding. Charlene is just a few feet away talking to a guy, trying to get them to take the stuff that her and Bobby set out this week. Not knowing John was in the trash bin when it went to the road. John is scared that Charlene and Bobby would talk them into taking all the stuff they have set out.  If that happens, they would never know he was picked up with this weeks garbage. 

John knew he had to try, he wanted a life with Charlene. Then a guy said, "We'll take what we can". 

All John could think is, there has to be a way to get out of here. 

Then John's heart sink when he heard Bobby talking to a guy and said, "I will give you each $20.00 if you will take all this "garbage". 

John heard the guy say " YOU GOT IT, IT’S GONE! ". 

John could not believe what he just heard. The men started loading the Truck. John could hear the men picking things up around him and were getting closer to the bin. John is scared, he now realized that he could very well be picked up and loaded with this weeks garbage. Would anyone notice him when they empty the the bin into the truck? Then John felt his world move, the noise was getting louder, they were taking the bin over to the truck. The bin was lifted and emptied into the truck along with the garbage. John fell out of the bin into the back of the truck, just another piece of garbage.

The men finished loading the hopper and pulled the lever to cycle and compact the load into the truck. The compacting cycle begins, the blade rotating outwards towards the tailgate.  Then lowered to the bottom of the track. John could feel it covering him and the rubbish in the hopper. The blade then rotates inwards, scooping him and the trash out of the hopper and into the truck. John was 'collected with this weeks garbage' from the front of the his house. 

Charlene watched as they went to work, The men were dumping the trash in the truck as fast as they could. John tried to yell when he felt the bin move. He could hear that he was near the truck, because the noise was so loud. John was trying to push the lid off when a guy asks, "What the hell do you have in here lady?" 

John heard what were to be the last words he would hear his wife say. " Just a bunch of garbage". 

John could feel the bin being picked up, then the lid come off and because John climbed in the garbage bag before he got in the bin, no one notice as they dumped the last of Charlene's "GARBAGE" in the truck. Charlene and Bobby watched as the men did the final compaction cycle with the garbage just placed in the truck.  Bobby paid the men and Charlene seeing the last of her garbage disappear into the back of the truck. How "Glad" she was seeing them get all the garbage before her husband got home. The men left and  continued on to more stops, taking on more refuse and repeatedly compacted the trash, without realizing  John was in the load.  John's journey will take him to the local  landfill or recycling center. 

As they started walking back to the house Bobby grabbed the empty garbage bin and said, "I think the Big Guy will be glad we got the house cleaned and all the garbage went out this week". Charlene said, "He better, thats what he wanted ". I am going to bed, wake me up when he gets home". 

News story headline in the local paper.

Man fell asleep in trash bin and was found buried alive

A Redford man who fell asleep in a garbage bin survived a terrifying ordeal. He had been picked up by a garbage truck which compacted the load and dumped him and the garbage into a landfill site. He was found by two men dumping garbage at the landfill site.

Fire and ambulance personnel had to extricate the 45 year-old man from a stacked pile of garbage before he could be loaded on to a stretcher. He suffered fractures to his jaw, arm and ribs. The man, who told police he had climbed into the bin to hide on his wife. He was expected to remain in hospital for some time.

The garbage truck picks up bins and dumps them in the hopper then it goes into a 'packer' storage unit, which compresses the loads to one-fifth their original size. Considering how close the man was to not being discovered, some are saying: "How many are there that we don't find?"
 

THE END

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