Thankfulness six

I am thankful, oh so thankful, for the studmuffins that come to take away my garbage. I remember, when I was a kid, once a week we would load the garbage cans in the back of the pickup, and drive out to the dump. Dad would bring his twenty two rifle, and when the boys got big enough, they would too. Why? To shoot the rats, of course. The dump was always over-run with rats. All that free food, ya know. It smelled to high heaven, especially in the summer. But your nose gets used to just about anything, and after the fearless rat hunters had their shooting spree, then I would get out and we would all wander around looking for stuff. Ruined furniture, old clothes, dead refrigerators, broken toys, chipped china and all the random detritus of life. I wish I had the box of comic books we found. Dad wouldn't let us take them because, "they might be dirty." I just now realized that he might have meant pornographic, rather than soiled.

Anyhow, I am thankful that We no longer have to make that weekly trip to the dump. In a town of 1500, the dump was controlable. In a city of three million, no way! And the rat hunters would be way too scarey.

Speaking of hunting, I girded my loins and went into the black Friday madness to run some errands. Returning books to the library, stopping at the used paperback store for travel reading, swinging by the office supply store to get ink cartridges re-loaded. No way do I have the cohones to breast the waves of humanity at the malls!

But I am warm and stylish in my new sweater. Blue-faced leister, Barkton farm dyed, raglan-sleeve knit from the top down. DH calls it urban camoflage and likes it a lot. So do I. It's soft and warm and purdy.