Unionized Clones

Monday, December 9^th, 2024 – Safeway

We started our new week with a bang! Not. We found neither money nor roadkill, kind of a no-win, no-lose situation. But we added an item to the win category, a tool.

It was a 1/4-inch drive, three-inch socket extension tool. Okay, it’s small, but remember, size doesn’t matter.

At a bus stop on Juanita-Woodinville Way, someone tried to run away from home.

And did it very badly. One suitcase seemed to be empty and the other had some clothing in it. Overall, not a good getaway. We’ll let them sit for a few days and if they don’t get on a bus, we will collect them to send to Goodwill. [edit] They disappeared.

Well, someone got an early Christmas present.

And, speaking of Christmas, we got our Christmas lights put up and we think we did a pretty good job with 400+ meters of LED lights.

But we have a neighbor behind our house who always tries to out-do us. Notice the sky lit up in the photo.

This is Keener’s Christmas. Each year it gets bigger and this year it is advertised as having over 300k lights. It’s a pitiful try, but we think we’re way ahead of him.

Tuesday, December 10^th, 2024 – Park-and-Ride

This morning, the temperature dropped below freezing but we were prepared with a rechargeable hand warmer for one hand and a flashlight on high that produces a very bright light and warmth for the other hand. We also carry extra batteries for the flashlight because after about two hours, it still produces a lot of light but loses the full warming effect. However, today we forgot the extra flashlight batteries plus we had an early-morning appointment, so we decided to cut the route short and return home early.

We found neither money nor roadkill. Last week on Brickyard Road, we found half a pair of binoculars.

Today, half-way across the I405 overpass, we found the box for them. Now we need to find the other half.

Even though it was cold, some lady lost her underwear at the park-and-ride.

Probably just trying to keep warm.

Wednesday, December 11^th, 2024 – Safeway & 100th

Okay, today we were more organized and remembered all our equipment including the extra flashlight batteries. The temperature was again above freezing, so we had a more comfortable walk. However, we came up short on finding any money and needed to provide a burial of a demised crow. Not wanting to be blamed, we made sure there were no other crows around to witness it.

We found similar things in the past. A sheet of paper from a local middle school.

It was a seating chart for the students in an algebra class. “Gee Mrs. Brown, how do you remember all our names?” All kidding aside, here is a piece of paper littered by whatever means that shows the names and photos of a class of middle schoolers. It doesn’t seem like a good thing to us.

A Button Lamp.

After some research, we found that these are disposable, self-adhesive button lights, ten bucks for a pack of six on Amazon. It is a quarter-sized button with a bright light that is supposed to last up to seventeen hours. There is the “up to” phrase again. It comes with “Powerful Adhesive” according to the marketing. Obviously not powerful enough since it fell off whoever lost it. They also show an example of its use:

For starters, clear the smoke out of your workplace.

Last night, a friend asked us if we ever find condoms on our walks. Well, yes, all the time. She said she found one on Juanita-Woodinville Way but didn’t pick it up.

We found it.

We picked up an envelope of pills.

It is a calendar card of contraceptive pills. Uh-oh.

Thursday, December 12^th, 2024 – 160th to 124th Street

Don’t get excited, but we finally found some money.

A very beat-up penny on the approach to the freeway on-ramp. We told you not too get excited.

116^th Ave NE runs along the freeway. People pull off the freeway to do activities like getting fuel, buying beer and food. They often park on the street and toss their refuse into the ditch.

Sometimes another activity might be involved, but it won’t help you stay awake on the freeway.

Speaking of off-ramps, someone had a bright ideal.

It didn’t turn out well.

Do you Believe?

We found this book in the middle of the road. It’s the story of the development of the TV series, “Ted Lasso.” Hopefully, this is not a book review, and the person accidentally left it on top of their car.

Friday, December 13^th, 2024 – 100th Ave NE

Today was not a bad walk with temperatures in the mid-twenties and no rain. But we did find more money, tripling our current finds.

Two cents. We told you not to get excited.

We did find a tool, though.

A 1/4-inch drive, half-inch socket. This is weird. We very seldom find quarter-inch drive sockets and this week, the only tools we’ve found so far were quarter-inch drive and they were not found anywhere near each other. We have a quarter-inch drive socket set, but it was a gift. It was when we were much younger, and we responded to one of those time-share spiels to “attend to attend our meeting” and receive a free tool set. The reason they provided a quarter-inch drive socket set is because it was too small to use as a weapon against the salesman.

Last night, a friend texted a photo of some police activity in their neighborhood.

In an alley next to their house, a car appeared with the horn stuck honking. They called in a welfare check and several police showed up. The car turned out to be abandoned and involved it a hit-and-run at our local 7Eleven. So yes, we were slowed down picking up some shatter-scatter this morning.

Okay, we’ll keep our condom run alive this week.

Found on NE 145^th St. near a couple of churches. Boring sermons?

We picked up a Target gift card.

But it had a zero balance. One can only hope.

It’s trash pickup day, so what’s wrong with this picture?

If you said putting a twelve-foot curtain rod in the garbage bin, you would be half right. But the big thing is, the bin is backwards. THE WHEELS GO AWAY FROM THE STREET! Bad idea.

Okay, now for a good idea, holiday refrigerator magnets.

But wait, if they work on the refrigerator, what about the car? Well, there is that wind thing.

Saturday, December 14^th, 2024 – Riverside Drive

This morning was breezy with temperatures in the low forties. Rain was threatening but held off. Overall, a comfortable walk. We won’t talk about the money we found, but we picked up a tool.

A nice 12-mm combination wrench in the middle of Brickyard Road. We almost had a second tool.

But we couldn’t quite make ends meet.

Someone tossed out a pillowcase with a checkered past.

If only it could speak, we might have some real pillow talk.

We picked up a certificate of calibration.

From the model number, we found it was a Veris E50C3 Advanced Power Meter.

Our price $1166.67, for anybody else it would be $1167. For California Residents, there is that Prop 65 warning. We’re glad we don’t live in California.

It’s time to Woman Up!

We looked up LiUNA. It’s the Laborers’ International Union of North America. They look like clones to us. It would make a good B-Movie. “The Return of the Unionized Clones.”

On the freeway off-ramp, someone’s birthday plans were ruined.

A Happy Birthday tiara with the price tag still attached so it was never worn. Unless they left the price tag on purpose, but who would do that?

Minnie Pearl.

At the freeway on-ramp where the bus stop is, a truck lost a roll of tar paper.

It was very heavy and if someone had been near the bus stop it would have injured them. People who don’t tie down their loads should be tarred and feathered.

Chuck walked down the on-ramp and on his way back, passed a road barrier.

After Chuck passed it a gust of wind came up and he heard some noise behind him. The barrier was blown off the road. It’s a good thing the sandbag was there or it might have tagged along with Chuck.

On the way back, Chuck spotted a beer can that had been blown up against the curb.

He picked it up, removed the pop tab then tossed it on the road to stomp it flat. As soon as it hit the pavement, it took off back up the street in a gust of wind. It traveled about 75 feet until Chuck finally caught up with it. The can really did not want to be stomped but Chuck held it down with his picker and finally flattened it.

That wraps up another TrashWalking week. Our take,

• 3 Cents.  Better than last week, but not by much.
• 4 Balls.
• 4 Condoms, used.
• 3 Tools, a socket, an extension, and a wrench.
• 3 Unionized clones.
• 2 Weeks-worth of contraceptive pills.
• 2 Runaway suitcases.
• 1 Roadkill, a crow.
• 1 Runaway beer can.
• 1 Pair of women’s underwear.
• 1 Button lamp for smokey garages.
• 1 Believable book.
• 1 Target gift card that missed the target.
• 1 Silent pillow case.
• 1 Calibrated meter’s calibration certificate.
• 1 Moving road barrier.
• 1 Not-so-bright idea.

Have a great week and remember, don’t let your clones unionize.