Following Directions No Matter What

For trash pick-up, I usually have a small kitchen trash bag and that usually gets only a third full.

For some reason, my daughter has two big strong Hefty trash bags full every week, so she has two plastic trash cans with covers whereas I have no need for trash cans and have none, just the little waste basket under my sink.

You know I’m doing a lot of emptying in my house. So, After cleaning out the attic, I had quite a bit of trash, and trash pick-up was five days away, so I asked Lauren if she would mind if I put my extra trash bag in one of her trash cans. She said, “Sure, go ahead.” And she further emphasized that I should put the cover on. “Be sure you put the cover on,” she said, “as tight as you can.”

My daughter is having some work done on the inside of her apartment, and she forgot that her trash cans had been moved to out-of-the-way places convenient for Sam, the nice guy who is doing the work in her house.

Innocently I took my bag to where Lauren's trash cans usually are. They were nowhere to be found. I felt disoriented. “Where are the trash cans,” I wondered. "Have I gone to the wrong house? Where am I?"

I did get my bearings, however. Then I saw a trash can lid, just sitting there by itself, and I followed my impulse. I did what any red-blooded American would do. I plopped the trash bag down where the trash can should have been, and took the stray lid and placed it on top of the trash bag on the ground. I pushed the cover down as tight as I could. Did I think Lauren wouldn't notice? I don't really know what I thought except that I had solved a dilemma the only way I knew how.

Days later Lauren saw the trash bag with the cover smack on top of it. She knew exactly what had happened. She saw the wheels of my mind working and knew I was trying to follow orders as best I could under the circumstances.

She was so amused that she took a picture of it. And that’s the one you see above. And I put it below for you to see again.