Why do we need trash cans?

The following is my email to the Boston Public Works Department:

Hello,

Last Saturday (August 11), I was working in front of a restaurant near the corner of Newbury and Dartmouth Streets.

I noticed a pickup truck from the Public Works Department making its way down the street emptying trash cans. When the truck stopped in front of our restaurant, the Public Works employee who emptied the trash can managed to spill a decent amount of the trash on the ground. He went to the truck to drop off the full bag, and I expected him to come back and clean up the trash spilled on the ground. That, however, did not occur. He climbed back into the truck and drove further down the street. I yelled that they had left trash on the ground but I assume they did not hear me and kept driving.

This is completely unacceptable for several reasons.

Trash should not be left outside of a restaurant with outdoor seating. The entire incident and the remnant trash were in plain view of patrons eating meals. The fact that he spilled the trash is not an issue at all. But leaving it on the ground is intolerable in view of a restaurant and on a sidewalk for pedestrians to enjoy.

Further, it's hard to fathom that this employee forgot about the spill. Within 30 seconds, he was in the truck and driving away. Could he have forgotten so quickly?

As a concerned citizen, journalist and restaurant industry employee, there is absolutely no way I can tolerate that kind of behavior. I hope this incident only represents a small portion of Public Works employees. Such reckless disregard for public space on a taxpayer funded payroll is unacceptable.

I managed to get the license plate as the truck drove away. The number was MP1109.

Thank you for taking the time to read my email. I know this might be just a relatively minor incident to the department, but I feel every little bit helps the city of Boston.

Regards,

Boston Commoner

This email was better thought-out than executed but that incident bothered me all week. I had to write that email and get it in soon. Still awaiting a reply (I just sent it a minute ago).

Also, I omitted the line, "If all Public Works employees acted with such reckless disregard the city of Boston would not need trash cans or people on a the public payroll to empty them. Citizens could just lay their trash down themselves." It sounds cool but its an argumentative fallacy because 1) it assumes and 2) it exaggerates.

Sigh. If only I could have been that forceful, yet incorrect.

Prologue

Welcome back, Commoners!

This is version 2.0 of Boston Commoner, my oft-neglected blog. I know historical revision is never a good thing. I thought long and hard about keeping all the old posts. I've learned a lot about this blogging business (and my motivation to do it). In the end, the old material on this blog was boring for several reasons.

1) News.

The original focus of the blog was to be about news, politics and other affairs. These things are best summed up in one word:

Yawn.

The serious things in life deserve greater attention than our society grants them. That's why I will not be omitting them from my blog. However, I've decided to make serious news issues to just another part of the discussion, not the entire thing.

2) I wasn't being myself.

The editorial content was mine, but I limited myself with material. I wanted this to be mostly serious. The result:

Even I couldn't pay attention to me.

Now the story begins of a common college student stuck in Boston for another year. This is life and the world through my eyes. If you like (or don't like) the view, feel free to leave questions, comments and condemnation (tips also appreciated!).

Sincerely,

Chris

Major Construction

After months of blog neglect, I'm on my way to re-invigorating this hunk of junk.

More to come.