It Depends

Monday, November 11^th, 2024 – Safeway

We started out the week with mild temperatures and moderate rain throughout our three-hour walk. We returned home wet, but it was not too uncomfortable. We did not pick up any money but needed to remove a large roadkill raccoon from Juanita-Woodinville Way.

We hauled it across the street to a wooded area and placed it in the bushes. Then, during our wet walk when we thought things could not get worse, we found what looked like eight bags in the gutter.

They were a bunch of Depends. We assume they were waterlogged because it was raining, at least that is what we told ourselves. We made two trips to a nearby dumpster to get rid 0f them. Yes, we wear rubber gloves.

The food truck near Safeway had a minor implosion.

The rainwater was too much for the canopies. You may want to upgrade your tents. Wind and snow are coming.

This car repair garage has been closed since the start of the pandemic and “people” have been dumping trash in this corner. Over the last month or so, we have been gradually cleaning it up then this happened.

Two new wrecked cars without license plates appeared. No way will we deal with this.

Now, this is distressful.

No, really. This is called a Pink Distressed Balaclava Ski Mask. That is a good name, because we would be distressed if we were forced to wear it.

We found Zoe’s YMCA of Greater Seat badge.

Oh, it is probably Greater Seattle. Thats a good thing, because folks probably visit the YMCA to get smaller seats, not bigger ones.

For the most part, anyway.

We found a game tile for Rummikub.

Not knowing anything about it, we did some Googling and found this link. It claims the game is easy to play and has a tutorial game. Good luck. We tossed the tile.

Tuesday, November 12^th, 2024 – Park-and-Ride

Our walk was thankfully dry and unthankfully lacking money and not lacking in roadkill. We removed a bird from the road.

We picked up another lost lug nut in about the worst place.

The freeway on-ramp.

Someone’s boomerang did not come back, and we picked it up.

In the park-and-ride, we found this. What happened here?

“Son, it’s time to discuss the facts of life. First, you are nineteen years old, you don’t need a booster seat anymore. And get rid of that baby bottle!”

Also, at the park-and-ride, we found what looked like a women’s choker.

Chuck tried to put it on, but it didn’t fit over his head. After some research, it we found it on the Walmart site.

A Thigh Ring. It’s a good thing Chuck couldn’t wear it, it might have been permanent.

Wednesday, November 13^th, 2024 – Safeway & 100th

It rained for our entire walk, and we needed to remove another heavy raccoon from the street.

BUT we also found real money!

A sawbuck. It was just sitting in the parking lot waiting for us. This is more money than we’ve found if you add up our take for the last ten weeks.

We pulled a rusty, old bicycle sprocket out of the bushes.

We carried it for about two blocks until we found a recycle bin. We won’t look for the rest of the bicycle.

And we weren’t looking for this either.

Yep, a urine bottle on Norway Hill. But why? There are plenty of trees on the hill. Easier and takes less time. Oh, yes. The rain. You wouldn’t want that to shrink.

Thursday, November 14^th, 2024 – 160th to 124th Street

There was no rain this morning, and some gusty winds, but nothing too bad. We removed a small roadkill squirrel but found a tool.

Yes, we chiseled someone out of their chisel. We kept a sharp watch out for more, but that’s the only one we found.

Another lost lock.

We haven’t counted them, but we have about twenty of these, mostly unlocked. Now, if they would leave the key in it, we would have something. As it is, they are probably just another category or our collection of scrap iron that includes tire weights, lug nuts an several cans of random hardware.

We found a needle.

When we first started walking, we found multiple needles each week. For the past several years, they have become very sparse. This is probably due to the rise in fentanyl use, which can be potent in very small doses and can be used without the need for injection methods. Or there has been a big reduction in drug usage… Nah!

While running an errand, we saw a blue piece of plastic on the freeway off-ramp and we decided to go farther down to check it out.

We didn’t find the plastic, but we did find a bunch of trash that we picked up. We probably encroached on the Twilight Zone, the boundary between the on-ramp and the freeway.

It was weird, we won’t do that again.

We picked up a pair of men’s underwear.

They could be Rod Serling’s size. According an Associated Press interview, “He [Serling] was just barely 18 when he enlisted and sounded like a kid at summer camp in his letters to his parents. He was asking for gum, candy, underwear (because he didn’t like the GI ones). ” But probably not, unless he really has a time machine.

Friday, November 15^th, 2024 – 100th Ave NE

It was cool and dry this morning. We found no money and removed a roadkill rat from the street. At the very beginning of our walk, we picked up a lost Ford wheel cover.

Fortunately, today was trash pickup day and we were able to place it in a nearby recycle bin.

We picked up a downed political sign, a week-and-a-half after the elections.

Most of the items we picked up today were food related. The first thing we came across was a Safeway shopping bag.

It had an almost-full bag of Kirkland-brand Butter-Toffee Cashews from Costco, a 2.5-pound bag of dates, and about ten packets of Quaker Oats Strawberry and Creme oatmeal. Does any of these go together? It’s no wonder they tossed it.

Then we found the remnants of someone’s lunch.

There was a half-eaten hamburger, an unopened bag of steak fries and a bunch of ketchup packets.

• Customer: “I’ll have the Super Meal with a coke and the special toy.”
• Server: “Here you go, sir. One burger, one coke and a bag of steak fries.”
• Customer: “Thanks, but I don’t need the steak fries, I’m not going to eat them.
• Server: “Sorry, be we are required to provide the steak fries with the Super Meal.”
• Customer: “Oh. Okay.”
• Server: “And here are your fifteen packets of ketchup for your fries.”
• Customer: “But I’m not… Never mind.”
• Server: “Have a great day.” [Smiley Face Implied.]

Finally, there was the third mess on Simonds Road.

A bag of chips and two six packs of empty beer bottles. So this was the walk of Goldilocks.

• “This one’s too sweet.”
• “This one’s too much.”
• “This one’s just right.”

Wait, what? Did she end up on Norway Hill?

This was well-hung in the bushes at the Tolt Pipeline on top of Norway Hill. The condom, we don’t know about the guy. No comment from Goldilocks.

Saturday, November 16^th, 2024 – Riverside

This morning was again cool and dry, and we started out with a continuation of the food theme from yesterday.

On our way down the hill to Riverside Drive, we picked up this bag. It contained two plastic bowls leaking something orange. It looked messy and we did not explore further. It got tossed into the garbage.

We found a couple of tools.

A screwdriver missing a handle and a ratchet with a 14 mm socket attached. The screwdriver is a lost cause, and the ratchet had been run over and is difficult to turn, but might be salvageable. The socket is fine, though.

A chair appeared near where the construction on the freeway is taking place.

We figure the flaggers put it there for when they start to flag from all the flagging they do.

At the park-and-ride, we found a couple of audio discs of love songs.

We also found two condoms.

“Wow, that was great. Now, shall we listen to the second CD?”

With that we wrap up another TrashWalking week. Our take,

• 10 Dollars.
• 6 Food items.
• 6 Depends, mostly unused.
• 4 Roadkill including two raccoons.
• 4 Tools, half of them broken.
• 3 Condoms.
• 2 Very effective CDs of love songs.
• 2 Balls
• 1 Distressed balaclava
• 1 Thigh ring with no thigh.
• 1 Lost unlocked lock.
• 1 Pair of underwear.
• 1 Flagging chair
• 1 Zoe’s greater seat.
• 1 Rummikub nine.
• 1 Boomerang.  Not returned.

Have a great week and keep those CDs playing.