The Most Precious Thing
This isn’t my story, but it belongs here. A guy was driving a garbage truck and on his usual route, there was a girl who always took out her trash exactly when the truck stopped in front of her house. It turned out she even arranged her university classes so she’d be home when he came by. One day, her dad locked her out and said he wouldn’t let her back in until she got the phone number of her favorite garbage collector. That day, the guy was driving, and the girl went up to one of his coworkers and asked if the driver was seeing anyone. “Tamás, are you dating anyone?” the coworker shouted. “No!” my dad shouted back — and that’s how he got my mom’s number. They’ve been married for fifty years, and my dad always says with love that as a garbage collector, he found life’s greatest treasure.
Saxophone in the Trash
My uncle worked as a garbage collector and found a perfectly intact, high-quality saxophone in the trash. It was in its case and well cared for. He gave it to me, and I started playing. That was ten years ago, and since graduating from the conservatory, I’ve been making my living as a saxophonist.
Hazardous Material
Asbestos. Every month, we find asbestos — a dangerous material. People don’t want to dispose of it legally, so they just throw it in the trash. They don’t realize that when crushed asbestos particles get into the air, we breathe them in, and it affects our children too.
A Memory
We found an urn with ashes inside, the person’s name engraved on it. We lived in a small town, and it turned out my dad knew the deceased.
Hands and Feet
A huge box full of prosthetic limbs. There were some very old, basic ones and others that were modern and lifelike. Some were just hands and feet, while others were full wooden or metal legs and arms with hooks instead of hands.
A Toy
When I was young, I worked one summer with garbage collectors. I found a toy grenade that looked very realistic, so I pocketed it. At home, I showed it to my grandpa, who was once a military officer. His eyes went wide, and he whispered for me to carefully give it to him. Like a fragile egg, he slowly took it out to the garden and called the bomb squad. They shut down the whole street for half a day and blew it up — it was a real grenade.
Meow
I grabbed a trash bag and heard a soft meowing. It was a skinny kitten, so I took it home. Now, eight years later, it’s a spoiled, chubby furball and my best friend.
Good Catch
I found a brand-new PlayStation 4 with no visible damage. I took it home, turned it on, and it worked perfectly. I have no idea why someone threw it away. Once, I saw a man bringing a big box of toys to the trash. I asked him with a smile if the kids had been naughty or just outgrown them. He replied, “Our son died of leukemia, and my wife always cries when she sees his toys in his room.” I still feel terrible about asking.
Celluloid
The local small garden cinema went bankrupt, and they threw out all the film reels — right next to the trash bins in big boxes. There were also lots of vintage film posters. My coworker took the posters home, and I took the reels. I stored them in the attic and forgot about them for about twenty years. I remembered them when we moved and found them under a pile of junk. I sold them online and won’t go into details, but I sold them to a collector for enough to cover half the cost of renovating the new house’s bathroom.
Opening image: Kzenon/istockphoto.com
